President Shimon Peres gave a special address at the Knesset on Wednesday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
Directly addressing the Iranian people, he said, "We were not born enemies and there is no need for us to live as enemies. Do not allow the flags of hostility to cast a dark shadow on your heritage. You are a sensitive people that aspire to friendship and peace, not conflict and wars."
The Iranians, who are Muslims today but not of Arab extraction, have a continuous history of thousands of years in Iran, the seat of the Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great was the Persian king who conquered Babylon (now Iraq) and allowed the Jews to return from exile to build the Second Temple in the 5th century B.C.E.
The President continued, "Iran is not only a threat to Israel. It constitutes a real danger to humanity as a whole. The present Iranian regime is imperialistic and aspires to be the region' supreme ruler. The world should learn the lesson drawn from the Nazi atrocities."
"Luckily, today there is a serious and strong Jewish state. It will not forget past crimes in order to ensure that they do not repeat themselves. I endorse the American position and the European position. And I believe they have still not had the last word," he said.
Speaking about the peace process, Peres noted, "We must ask ourselves what kind of a state we want? A Jewish state within secure and recognized borders, alongside an independent and de-militarized Palestinian state, or a country without borders that will turn into a bi-national state?"
"A bi-national state will be a bi-national dispute. The two-states for two-peoples solution calls for a renewal of negotiations. Yesterday was easier, and there is no guarantee regarding tomorrow. It is for the Palestinians to choose between the path of Hamas, which aspires to terrorism, and the path of Fatah, which is ready for dialogue. We opted for peace, for a historic compromise," he said.