JERUSALEM, April 26 (UPI) -- Israelis headed to beaches, national parks, nature reserves and military bases Thursday as the nation celebrated its 64th Independence Day.
In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and armed forces chief Gen. Benny Gantz attended a ceremony naming 120 Israeli soldiers who excelled in their duties, Haaretz reported.
Peres, referring to security threats, said: "To those who are now threatening Israel I say: Don't repeat the mistakes of your predecessors. You threaten out of a hunger for conquest. We defend out of an aspiration for peace. ... Wars, which Israel did not initiate, brought it unexpected gains, causing the aggressors unexpected losses."
In Tel Aviv, the Israeli Air Force conducted flyovers for beach-goers, and visitors were invited to military bases throughout the country, The Jerusalem Post reported.
U.S. President Barack Obama, in an Israeli Independence Day statement, said the United States and Israel share a "special bond of friendship" that has grown stronger.
"Sixty-four years ago, the United States became the first country in the world to recognize the state of Israel -- the realization of a modern-day state in the historic homeland of the Jewish people," Obama said.
He said the two countries had a "unique relationship founded on an unbreakable commitment to Israel's security and anchored by our common interests and deeply held values." Obama said the United States would work with Israel and other countries in the region to "achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution that will usher in a future of peace, security and dignity for the people of Israel and its neighbors."
