Israel’s leaders expressed their solidarity with the American people in the wake of Monday’s Boston bombings, as they condemned the now-confirmed terror attack which claimed three lives and injured 140.
Speaking at a reception for the foreign diplomatic corps Tuesday to mark Israel’s 65th Independence Day festivities at his official residence in Jerusalem, President Shimon Peres empathised with the families of the victims and injured, as he insisted that “when it comes to events like this. All of us our one family”.
Condemning the “policy of terror” that resulted in the attacks at the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon, as FBI investigations continue with the hopes of identifying the perpetrators, he added that “terrorists divide people, they kill innocent people”.
“We feel a part of the people who paid such a high price. God bless them,” he concluded.
A statement released by Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s office echoed the President’s sentiments of solidarity, as he too offered his “condolences to President Obama, the American people and the bereaved families”.
Reaffirming Israel’s close ties with its US allies, which both he and Obama sought to consolidate on the US head of state’s visit to the Jewish State last month, he added: “On this day and on any day, Israel stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the American people. We are partners in freedom and in seeking a better future for all humanity.”
Obama reiterated America’s unwavering ties with Israel with an official statement congratulating Israel on the occasion of Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) despite coordinating the domestic response to the Boston tragedy. “Our two nations stand together because it makes our countries safer, stronger and more prosperous and it makes the world a better place”, he insisted in a statement Tuesday.
Meanwhile, US emergency services confirmed they had drawn on Israel’s extensive expertise in treating victims of bomb attacks in response to the Boston incident. Massachusetts General Hospital director Dr. Alasdair Conn told reporters Monday the medical facility’s disaster team had requested Israeli instruction two years prior to the attacks “so that we could respond in this kind of manner”.
Dr Pinchas Halpern, director of emergency medicine at Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Centre also confirmed he had been in touch with Boston doctors this week, having previously travelled to the city to give lectures on responding to such attacks in 2005. Invoking Israel’s own experience in responding to terrorist attacks on civilians, he added: ““Unfortunately, we have great expertise.”