No less than 70 World leaders, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and Prince
Charles, were all in attendance in Israel as the body of its former Prime Minister and President
Shimon Peres, was laid to rest today, September 30, 2016.
Israel said goodbye to the last of its founding generation and global diplomacy mourned a lost star, but the children of Shimon Peres grieved a father and spoke of him with elegance and simplicity. [Getty Images]
On Friday morning, Peres’ casket was loaded onto a
hearse for the drive from the Knesset – the Israeli
parliament of which he was a member for more
than 45 years – to the national cemetery at
Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl where he was buried.
CNN gathered that a host of dignitaries and foreign leaders arrived in Jerusalem to pay their respects,
including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and
the leaders of France and Germany.
Symbol of hope: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (left) shook Benjamin Netanyahu’s hand saying it had been a ‘long long time’ [AP]
Mr Abbass landed in Israel for the first time in six
years today and shook Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s hand in the defining
moment of Peres’ funeral amidst heavy security.
US President Barack Obama said the presence of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the funeral was a reminder of the “unfinished business of peace”. [Reuters]
US President Barack Obama, in the final eulogy of
the service, called for an end to hostilities and said
Mr Abass’s decision to visit Jerusalem was ‘a
gesture and a reminder of the unfinished business
of peace.’
Also speaking, Mr Netanyahu said that while Israel
and the world grieved for Mr Peres there was hope
in his legacy.
“Shimon lived a life of purpose,” he told
thousands gathered at Jerusalem’s Mount
Herzl cemetery.
“He soared to incredible heights. He swept so
many with his vision and his hope. He was a
great man of Israel.
“He was a great man of the world.”
Bill Clinton also paid tribute to Mr Peres, calling him
a ‘wise champion of humanity’.
The former US president gripped his coffin and
looked close to tears as he joined 70 world leaders
and royals including Tony Blair, Prince Charles and
King Felipe of Spain who all wore a Jewish skullcap
at the ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Daily Mail reports.
Israeli soldiers held wreaths during the funeral service. [Getty Images]
The funeral was said to be the largest of such
events in Israel since the funeral of Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a Jewish
nationalist in 1995.
Mr Peres had suffered a stroke two weeks ago and
died on Wednesday in a hospital near Tel Aviv. TAG
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