“Terrorism cannot defeat us,” said President Reuven Rivlin at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital earlier today. President Rivlin visited Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital to give encouragement to both the terror victims as well as to the hospital’s staff following the shooting attack in Tel Aviv last Friday that killed two people and injured several others.

Ichilov Hospital CEO Professor Roni Gamzu commented on the success of the hospital staff in treating the wounded victims.

“The medical care provided to the victims by the medical staff was administered as quickly as possible,” said Gamzu. “The medical staff was able to reduce the casualties in the operating room as well as provide professional care in the shortest time possible.”

President Rivlin acknowledged the current predicament facing Israelis.

“These are not easy times for Israeli citizens, and I am here to listen and to stand together with you: children in kindergartens and concerned parents, the wounded and the terrified families this morning,” said Rivlin.

President Rivlin also visited a kindergarten in central Tel Aviv in solidarity with the many Israeli parents concerned for the safety of their children.

The Israeli president addressed the controversies surrounding the Duma arson case as well. In particular, Rivlin defended the Israel Security Agency’s efforts in detaining and arresting the Jewish suspects in the attack.

“We are in a situation where there is more information that we don’t know about,” Rivlin stated.  “However, we rely on the police and the Israel Security Agency who know what they are doing and who how to bring this case to an end,” Rivlin added.

Meanwhile, Tel Aviv’s mayor Ron Huldai criticized the government’s response to the terror attack in Tel Aviv. Huldai commented that Netanyahu was “frustrated” because of the collapse of his “security thesis” and his failure to to adequately provide security to Israelis.