Shimon Peres - Giorgio Napolitano

      President Shimon Peres held an official reception for the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. During the course of the ceremony the two Presidents reviewed an Honor Guard of soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and made statements together. They discussed a number of issues, including the strengthening of economic, cultural, and scientific cooperation, as well as the strengthening of the political ties between the states, in the context of which they discussed the Iranian issue and the role of the international community in the matter of advancing the peace process between Israel and its neighbors. President Peres raised the Iranian question, and said that Italy and Europe must understand that Iran represents a tangible and clear threat to them and not just to the existence of Israel and Middle Eastern states, and that therefore the European states must take clear, unified economic steps against Iran and stop speaking in two voices – with one voice maintaining economic relations with Iran while the other voice denounces their efforts to develop nuclear weapons. President Napolitano noted in connection to this that he sees in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "A leader who denies the Holocaust and who is not hiding his intention to destroy Israel," and that Italy understands well the extent of the Iranian threat and stands on the side of Israel. As such, President Napolitano noted that Italy recognizes the right of Israel to exist in peace and security and sees in the axis of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, an Axis of Evil that is sabotaging the chances of arriving at peace in the Middle East.(17,52)