Israeli president: Assad has no right to lead Syria

Israeli President Shimon Peres has said Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad had no right to lead the country of Syria and would disappear "one way or another," defending Israel's capacity to defend itself against possible retaliation from Damascus. Addressing a gathering of foreign ambassadors at his residence ahead of the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah, Peres said on Tuesday that Assad had lost the right to rule Syria "by killing tens of thousands of people." "He is responsible for what has been happening in Syria. He was not properly elected. There is no real democracy. If there were, you could not have killed your own people. Assad will disappear one way or another," Peres added. Israeli President Peres expressed his gratitude to US President Barack Obama for his efforts to explore every option prior to an attack on the Syrian regime. He defended Israel's ability of defend itself against possible retaliation from Syria, reiterating that Israel had a deterrent defense capacity. US President Barack Obama asked for authorization from the US Senate to take action against Syria regarding its use of chemical gas, which Washington had previously declared as a red line. The Assad regime's attack on a suburb near Damascus resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 civilians.