Israeli President Shimon Peres gave a live interview on Arab news website Planet yesterday, one day after Israel intercepted a shipment of weapons from Iran to Gaza.

The interview generated thousands of questions from people across the Middle East and the website crashed as the interview began.

Mr Peres answered questions sent by viewers from Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

One Iranian viewer asked the president's opinion on relations between Iran and Israel.

Mr Peres said: "I don't understand why Iran continues to threaten to destroy Israel. Iran has become a centre of terror, which is developing nuclear weapons.

“The Iranian people are not our enemies and we have never threatened them. Why does an Iranian leader stand up and say he wants to destroy Israel?

On the current peace process, Mr Peres said: "We have already made a great achievement in that everyone agrees on the desired outcome, two states for two nations. It wasn't always like that.

“There are still disagreements on certain issues and that is why we need negotiations.We can find language that allows both sides to overcome the disagreement."