The two-state solution is the only solution, Israeli President assured MEPs

"The peace process with the Palestinians has an agreed beginning and an agreed solution: two states for two nations," Shimon Peres, President of the State of Israel, told MEPs on Tuesday. "Peace can be achieved in a relatively short while," he said, pointing to the experience of European integration, which he called a miracle.

The formation of the new Israeli government "is an occasion to resume peace negotiations," President Peres said, insisting that "there is no other solution" but the two-state one.

He warned against attempts by Iran to undermine the independence and security of Arab countries, referring to the Iranian regime as "the greatest danger to peace in the world." He called on MEPs to show the Iranian people during the forthcoming elections in Iran "that the world has not turned its back to them."

President Peres also said the end to the Syrian tragedy "might be achieved by empowering the Arab League to intervene" and "form a provisional government in Syria". The UN should "support an Arab force in blue helmets," he insisted. He also called on the international community to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz said that the fight against anti-Semitism, exclusion and intolerance was at the heart of the European project. He underlined that both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in dignity and peace and pointed to the common values uniting Europeans and Israelis, among which the "non-negotiable question of human rights throughout the world."