The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Nobel laureate Shimon Peres dies aged 93
Israel: Former president had stroke
Shimon Peres, the Israeli politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize during his unprecedented seven decade career, has died aged 93.
Mr Peres suffered a major stroke two weeks ago that led to bleeding in his brain. He was sedated and ona respirator during most of his time in hospital, as his condition worsened.
His son, Chemi, confirmed his death to reporters gathered at the hospital.
He said: “Today with deep sorrow we bid farewell to our beloved father, the ninth president of Israel.
“Our father’s legacy has always been to look to tomorrow. We were privileged to be part of his private family, but today we sense that the entire nation of Israel and the global community share this great loss. We share this pain together.”
A former aide to Mr Peres said his body will lie in state at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, today, before a state funeral at the country’s national cemetery in Jerusalem on Friday.
Yona Bartal, his former aide, said the plans were in line with the wishes of Mr Peres.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a special Cabinet meeting today, and a special committee will then begin preparing the arrangements for the funeral. Many international dignitaries and world leaders are expected to attend.
Mr Peres was the elder statesman of Israeli politics, a former president and prime minister who was one of the country’s most admired leaders and the last surviving link to its founding fathers.
“The global community share this loss. We share this”
He was credited with leading the country through some of its most defining moments, from creating its nuclear arsenal in the 1950s, to with drawing its troops from Lebanon and guiding a sceptical nation into peace talks with the Palestinians in the 1990s.
A protege of Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion, he led the defence ministry in his 20s. He was first elected to parliament in 1959 and later held every major Cabinet post, and served three brief stints as prime minister.
His key role in the first Israeli-Palestinian peace accord earned him a Nobel Peace Prize and status as Israel’s most recognisable figure abroad.
Yet for much of his political career he could not transfer his international prestige into success in Israeli politics, suffering a string of electoral defeats.