Peres greeted by protesters in London

During visit to prestigious research institute, president accuses British press of biased reporting, urges them to call on Hamas to cease rocket fire. Outside building, small group of pro-Palestinian activists hold signs calling Peres 'war criminal'

Hagit Klaiman|Published: 03.30.11 , 18:24

LONDON – President Shimon Peres on Wednesday commenced his visit to London at the prestigious Chatham House research institute.

Prior to Peres' arrival, the Israeli embassy received information on pro-Palestinian organizations planning to protest and interrupt the president's speech.

A small group of demonstrators gathered outside the institute and held signs calling Peres a "war criminal." They urged him to lift the siege on Gaza and "end all hostilities".

Protesters in London (Photo: Hagit Klaiman)

Speaking in front of diplomats and officials from all around Europe, the president criticized the press and British commentators for what he called their biased coverage of the conflict, asking them how they would have responded if the situation was reversed and 200 rockets were being fired at the UK.

Peres called the British television reporting one-sided, claiming they only showed the Israeli military response, but not the damage caused by the daily rocket fire into Israel.

He then urged the British critics to demand that Hamas stop firing rockets from the Gaza Strip.

The president also addressed the deadlocked negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, and stressed that most of the disagreement stemmed from psychological barriers rather than territorial ones.

Peres noted that the revolutions throughout the Arab world serve as a window of opportunity to end the conflict, adding that Israel's opponents use the conflict as a pretext, claiming to fight for the Palestinian cause while in reality they only fight for themselves.