Upon landing in Athens on Monday, President Shimon Peres offered condolences to the people of Egypt for the killing on Sunday of 15 Egyptian border guards by gunmen dressed as Beduin. He spoke at the official reception hosted by his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias.

Terror harms everyone without discrimination, said Peres. After gunning down Egyptian security personnel the terrorists had planned to infiltrate Israel and had thankfully been stopped by Israeli security forces’ quick response, he said.

Peres referred to the incident as a needless and senseless loss of life. It is in the interests of both Egypt and Israel to maintain peace and quiet on both sides of the border, and throughout southern Israel, he said.

At their working meeting following the reception, Papoulias also condemned the terrorist attack and said that Greece is opposed to terror in any shape or form.

Greece is a country that suffered from acts of terrorism, he said and could therefore empathize with the Egyptian population.

Papoulias also expressed sorrow over the deaths of the Israelis who had been killed in a terrorist attack in Bulgaria last month. He said that he had been surprised that an act of terrorism had been carried out in a vacation resort, but on reflection realized that this was yet another proof of the extent to which terrorism is organized. Greece is obligated to act against terrorist elements that are working against peace and democracy, said Papoulias. (© 1995-2011, The Jerusalem Post 08/07/12)