Image
Syrian president 'has lost the right to be a leader,' Peres declares.

President Shimon Peres slammed Syrian President Bashar Assad during a reception Tuesday with foreign ambassadors in Israel in honor of Rosh Hashanah.

"Assad has lost the right to be a leader by killing a hundred thousand people. He caused it. He wasn't elected properly, it was never a real democracy but even in a democracy you don't have the right to kill your own people," Peres declared.

"Assad will disappear one way or the other," he added.

However, he continued, intervention may not be the right path. "War is a very serious business and I would suggest to every leader to think as much as they can before rather than afterwards," he said, adding, "I admire President Obama's attempt to examine every possibility to bring this horrible situation to an end."

Peres echoed other Israeli leaders in saying that Israel has no plans to intervene in Syria, but is prepared for any attack. An attack is unlikely, he added, explaining, "If Syria attacks us we will overcome them and that is why I believe it won't happen... We have one of the best security infrastructures and one of the best militaries in the modern world."