ABBAS ATTENDS

While world leaders gathered, for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose West Bank headquarters are just a half-hour from Jerusalem, it may have been the most difficult journey.

With the breakdown of peace talks, and during a wave of low-level violence over the past year, Abbas and Netanyahu have become bitter nemeses. At home, Abbas also faced great internal pressure to skip the event.

Palestinian officials said Abbas, who signed the Oslo accord at the White House with Peres in 1993, felt a duty to honour him.

“Our participation in Peres’ funeral today was a message of peace to the Israeli people,” said Hussein al-Sheikh, a Palestinian cabinet minister who joined Abbas’ delegation.