Israeli PM Hails Kerry Nomination to Succeed Clinton

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday welcomed the nomination of Senator John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as U.S. secretary of state, calling him a well-known defender of Israeli security.

"I congratulate John Kerry on his nomination to the post of American secretary of state. Kerry, who has great experience, is a well-known defender of the security of Israel," he said in a statement issued by his office.

"I have been friends with John Kerry for a number of years," he said, adding that he was "impatient to work with him."

Netanyahu also said he greatly appreciated that six months ago, after his father died, Kerry visited him during the shiva seven-day mourning period that follows the death of a relative.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday nominated the 69-year-old Democrat, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and foreign policy sage, to succeed Clinton.

For the past four years, the former 2004 presidential candidate has held the prestigious post of chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.