I feel in some ways the most independent political figure in Israel. Nobody can add to what I have done, and nobody can take away from what I did. [Jerus. Post, 7/16/94]
(In 1967) Ben Gurion embraced me and said, "I know many people who are prepared to work hard and make sacrifices in order to attain their goal, but I know no one like Shimon who will do this so devotedly, without taking into account any personal interest or calculation whatsoever." [Shimon Peres, Battling for Peace, Random House, 1995, p. 92]
[When Peres had broken away from Mapai and joined the Rafi list under Ben Gurion] [L]eading figures in Mapai were telling me throughout this traumatic period that they regarded me as the foremost candidate of my generation eventually to become Prime Minister. [Battling for Peace, p. 94]