President Shimon Peres on Tuesday heads for a three-day visit to Paris where he will meet with state leaders. He will raise a number of issues, including the hypocritical stance of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

Just yesterday, amid repeated statements of Damascus� yearning for peace with Israel, the nation�s deputy foreign minister lashed out at Israel, referring to Operation Cast Lead and the �massacre in Gaza� and other �acts of terrorism� perpetrated by Israel.

The Syrians also continue to accuse Israel of seeking to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque situated on Har Habayis, as well as alleging Israel is engaged in �ethnic cleansing�, trying to remove all non-Jews from Jerusalem.

The president will also take part in the dedication ceremony of Ben-Gurion Promenade in the Rova Shvi�i area of the French capital. From there he will travel to Poland to take part in the state funeral for Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who perished in a plane crash with his wife and many state officials on Saturday. The late president was regarded as a staunch ally of Israel and the Jewish People.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)