JERUSALEM
Israel's President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday described the failures of his country's military during the Yom Kippur war against Egypt 41 years ago as "unforgiveable."
Speaking at the Yom Kippur war memorial in Jerusalem, Rivlin said these failures included arrogance, underestimation of the enemy and the lack of sufficient preparation for Israeli troops.
Almost the most painful military lesson in Israel's history, the Yom Kippur war opened the door for the loss in 1973 by Israel of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel occupied in 1967.
Rivlin said, according to Israel Radio, that Israel should not be busy blaming anybody for the defeat, but that it needed to learn lessons from the mistakes of the past.
He added that the Israeli leadership ought to continually be exposed to difficult questions, saying that the Jewish people wanted peace.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, meanwhile, called for learning a lesson from the Yom Kippur war.
He said Israel's leaders were obligated to always seek peace with the Jewish state's neighbors, but also not delude themselves as to the intentions of their country's enemies.
Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog, who attended the ceremony, said the most important lesson Israel should learn from the war was that the country must pursue every political chance for achieving peace.
He called on Israeli governments to do everything possible to achieve this goal, saying there was no contradiction between peace and security.
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