Israeli President Shimon Peres on Thursday welcomed the election of Pope Francis, saying he represented "holy modesty" and inviting him to visit the Holy Land. "The newly-elected pope represents devotion, the love of God, the love of peace, a holy modesty and a new continent which is now awakening," Peres said a day after the election of Argentinian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the first-ever pontiff from Latin America.

Israeli President Shimon Peres will visit Brussels next week to lobby the EU to blacklist Lebanon's Hezbollah movement as a terrorist organisation, his office said on Friday. During a week-long trip, Peres, 89, would also address the European Parliament in Strasbourg and call on French President Francois Hollande in Paris, said a statement. Last month, Peres urged the European Union to list Hezbollah as a terrorist group, after Bulgaria blamed it for a July bombing in the Black Sea resort of Burgas which killed five Israeli tourists and their driver.

President Shimon Peres tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday with forming a new government after talks with parties elected to Israel's new parliament. "I have decided to charge Benjamin Netanyahu with forming the government," Peres said at a press conference in Jerusalem, after 82 of the 120 members of the Knesset had declared in favour of the premier. "I hope that this task will soon be completed," Peres said, as Netanyahu, who has 28 days to put together a coalition, stood beside him.

President Shimon Peres was expected on Saturday to task Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with forming a new government after two days of intense talks with parties elected to Israel's new parliament. On Thursday, Peres concluded the second day of back-to-back meetings with representatives of all 12 parties voted into Israel's 19th Knesset in last month's general election. The president's office said Peres would "announce the candidate who will be tasked with forming the government on Saturday night," without naming a candidate.