Peres to Blair: "Do you know that mothers cannot sleep at night"

President Shimon Peres met this morning with Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair. The two made joint declarations and continued to a meeting in private.

In the opening session the President said: "I want to thank you for the International support granted to Israel in the current operation, which for us is an act of self-defense. Your support is important to Israel, and has a positive effect and restrains the other side. I thank the Quartet and you personally."

The President emphasized that the aim of the operation is to stop the firing of rockets on the south, "We have no desire to conquer territory but to stop the missiles on the south and deter Hamas from continuing to shoot. Having been prime minister three terms you must understand what the meaning of mothers who cannot sleep at night is".

The President addressed the involvement of Egypt in an effort to achieve a ceasefire, and said: "The attempt of the Egyptian president to reduce the tension is blessed. We congratulate Egypt as a significant country in the Middle East. Paradoxically Hamas does not listen to Morsi."

The president also stressed that Iran is stirring underfoot in our region, "the Iranians are armed, teaching strategies, training terrorists, and in reality it is a conflict between Iranians who want to continue in the violence - against the Arab countries who want to end it."

Tony Blair said: "As you said, this area is indeed full of crises. I hope in the coming days we will reach a ceasefire to stop the threat of missiles coming from Gaza and directed at the citizens of Israel, and will release the people of Gaza who are also suffering. I know Egypt, USA Quartet and the UN are working for a ceasefire."

"I also hope we can promote the overall image constructively and achieve peace. We do not need another crisis which might deteriorate in addition to the challenge of Iran, what is happening in Syria, including the area, but there is one I hope we can resolve it, and at a later stage - to bring the parties to the negotiating table. I look forward to discussing things with you. "

After the declarations the president said to his guest: "You will not be unemployed in the Middle East. There is a lot to work on."

Later this week, the president will hold a round of diplomatic meetings with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle who will come to the area.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!