Veteran statesman and Israeli president Shimon Peres made his final political move on Thursday, retiring from his post at age 90. The figurehead president, who started his political career as the aide to Israel's founder David Ben-Gurion, has spent nearly 70 years in various leadership postings. Peres, who is a believer in the two-state solution, stepped down with a defense of his country's operation in Gaza. "Israel is not the enemy of the people of Gaza," he said, urging the country to "practice equality for all its citizens." Reuven Rivlin, a right-wing member of the prime minister's party, was sworn in.