Palestinians’ Abbas to attend Peres’ funeral
But there remains little hope for thaw in relations.
In death as in JERUSALEM — life, Shimon Peres will bring together longtime adversaries. But no one expects reconciliation when Israeli and Palestinian leaders both attend his funeral today.
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced Thursday that he would attend the funeral, putting him in proximity to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at a time when the two have been jousting over who is to blame for their failure to sit down and talk.
The tension between Abbas and Netanyahu, in fact, underscores just how far the two sides have separated since the Oslo Accords that Peres helped negotiate in the early 1990s, which created the framework for peaceful Israeli and Palestinian coexistence.
Israeli and Palestinian leaders shared handshakes on the White House lawn after signing the accord.
But Abbas and Netanyahu have engaged in a long-distance argument, leaving little hope of actual talks, much less agreement.
At the United Nations last year, Abbas threatened to stop complying with the Palestinian Authority’s obligations under the Oslo agreement because, in his view, the Israelis were not complying with theirs. In the end, he did not follow through on his threat, but many in the region wonder about the durability of the Oslo pact.
The memorials to Peres, who served as prime minister and later president of Israel, got underway on Thursday as his body lay in state outside the Parliament headquarters. Former President Bill Clinton, host of the Oslo ceremony that marked Peres’ greatest achievement, headed straight from the airport to visit the coffin.
Thousands of Israelis passed through security on a hot day to view the coffin as well, many expressing grief at the death of a man who had played a role in every stage of the nation’s history.
“It’s another generation, a generation of giants, and he was the last one,” said Leah Hoffman, 60, a government employee.
Her daughter, Shifra Hoffman, 30, an administrator, said it was hard to contemplate an Israel without Peres.
“There was a feeling that he would always be there,” she said. “Now that he’s gone, you feel emptiness.”
That Abbas would come was not a given. Already under fire from Palestinians who consider his authority too close to the Israelis, Abbas risked political damage at home by agreeing to attend.