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| Shimon Peres dies: global reaction to former Israeli leader's death – latest | Shimon Peres dies: global reaction to former Israeli leader's death – latest |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.19am BST | |
| 05:19 | |
| Rafi Walden, Peres’s son-in-law and his physician, said the former prime minister and president “left us without suffering”. | |
| He said world leaders who met Peres in his final years would pay deference to the statesman “like students standing before the rabbi eager to learn his lessons”. | |
| 5.11am BST | |
| 05:11 | |
| Chemi Peres on his late father: | |
| He was one of the founding fathers of the state of Israel and served our people before we even had a country. He worked tirelessly for Israel from the very first day of the state to the last day of his life. | |
| 5.10am BST | |
| 05:10 | |
| Shimon Peres’s son Chemi is speaking to media now... | |
| 5.09am BST | |
| 05:09 | |
| Peter Beaumont | |
| Sultan al Qassemi, the prolific Emirati commentator, and founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, was among those who were less flattering in their assessment of Peres, referring to the 1996 Qana massacre when 106 people were killed by israeli shelling at a UN compound. | |
| Shimon Peres was an example of how the world can forget someone's crimes if they only live long enough. https://t.co/ptNzk5Ejy0 | |
| 5.05am BST | |
| 05:05 | |
| I will miss Shimon Peres, my brilliant and eloquent friend. His life was a blessing to all who strive for peace. https://t.co/7aIk3mt3Og pic.twitter.com/Iosr09jQq9 | |
| 5.05am BST | |
| 05:05 | |
| Peres in his own words | |
| On the Oslo Accords: | |
| What we are doing today is more than signing an agreement: it is a revolution. Yesterday a dream, today a commitment. | |
| On the unsustainability of conflict with Israel’s neighbours: | |
| If you have children, you cannot feed them forever with flags for breakfast and cartridges for lunch. You need something more substantial. Unless you educate your children and spend less money on conflicts, unless you develop your science, technology and industry, you don’t have a future. | |
| On his own public approval: | |
| For 60 years, I was the most controversial figure in the country, and suddenly I’m the most popular man in the land. Truth be told, I don’t know when I was happier, then or now. | |
| On a two-state solution: | |
| A firm basis already exists. A solution of two national states - a Jewish state, Israel; an Arab state, Palestine. The Palestinians are our closest neighbours. I believe they may become our closest friends. | |
| On peace: | |
| Peace with the Palestinians will open ports of peace all around the Mediterranean. The duty of leaders is to pursue freedom ceaselessly, even in the face of hostility, in the face of doubt and disappointment. Just imagine what could be. | |
| On peace... and breakfast: | |
| It is unfortunate, but as you know, you can make eggs into omelettes but you cannot make omelettes back into eggs. | |
| 4.53am BST | |
| 04:53 | |
| Reflections on the legacy of of Shimon Peres continue to flow from across the world, much of it praise, but Peres was a controversial figure throughout his lifetime. | |
| Bill and Hillary Clinton praised a “true and treasured friend” | |
| Bill and Hillary Clinton on the death of Shimon Peres: 'Hillary and I have lost a true and treasured friend' pic.twitter.com/gA8S3329xM | |
| But in the Middle East Monitor, Ben White writes that Peres’s hawkish drive to build Israel’s nuclear weapons program, his support for illegal settlements in the West Bank, and advocacy for the blockade of Gaza have been glossed over or forgotten by many in the West, who regard him as a “tireless dove”. | |
| The Guardian’s obituary described Peres as a leader who “engendered controversy”, opining too, “there was something tragic about the man”. | |
| Peres was an intriguingly contradictory figure: a romantic in a cynical age, an Israeli icon with a Polish accent and francophone sensibility, who carried about him the taint (deserved or otherwise) of political chicanery. Unlike holiness, he told David Frost, politics is built on compromise. | |
| 4.30am BST | 4.30am BST |
| 04:30 | 04:30 |
| I am going to hand over to my colleague Ben Doherty now. He will continue to update as more reaction comes in from around the world. Peres’s family is due to speak to the media in about half an hour. | I am going to hand over to my colleague Ben Doherty now. He will continue to update as more reaction comes in from around the world. Peres’s family is due to speak to the media in about half an hour. |
| 4.25am BST | 4.25am BST |
| 04:25 | 04:25 |
| White House releases statement from Barack Obama | White House releases statement from Barack Obama |
| The statement said Peres was one of the “ few people who we share this world with who change the course of human history, not just through their role in human events, but because they expand our moral imagination and force us to expect more of ourselves. My friend Shimon was one of those people.” | The statement said Peres was one of the “ few people who we share this world with who change the course of human history, not just through their role in human events, but because they expand our moral imagination and force us to expect more of ourselves. My friend Shimon was one of those people.” |
| Shimon was the essence of Israel itself—the courage of Israel’s fight for independence, the optimism he shared with his wife Sonya as they helped make the desert bloom, and the perseverance that led him to serve his nation in virtually every position in government across the entire life of the State of Israel. As Americans, we are in his debt because, having worked with every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy, no one did more over so many years as Shimon Peres to build the alliance between our two countries—an unbreakable alliance that today is closer and stronger than it has ever been. | Shimon was the essence of Israel itself—the courage of Israel’s fight for independence, the optimism he shared with his wife Sonya as they helped make the desert bloom, and the perseverance that led him to serve his nation in virtually every position in government across the entire life of the State of Israel. As Americans, we are in his debt because, having worked with every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy, no one did more over so many years as Shimon Peres to build the alliance between our two countries—an unbreakable alliance that today is closer and stronger than it has ever been. |
| Here is the statement in full: | Here is the statement in full: |
| Here is President Obama's full statement on Shimon Peres: pic.twitter.com/RPfQV7ClRT | Here is President Obama's full statement on Shimon Peres: pic.twitter.com/RPfQV7ClRT |
| 4.16am BST | 4.16am BST |
| 04:16 | 04:16 |
| AFP have out together a list of the key dates in the life of Shimon Peres | AFP have out together a list of the key dates in the life of Shimon Peres |
| - August 2 1923: Born Shimon Persky at Vishneva in what was then Poland and is now Belarus, he later took the Hebrew name Peres, meaning eagle. | - August 2 1923: Born Shimon Persky at Vishneva in what was then Poland and is now Belarus, he later took the Hebrew name Peres, meaning eagle. |
| - 1934: Arrival in British mandatory Palestine. | - 1934: Arrival in British mandatory Palestine. |
| - 1959: Elected a member of parliament for Mapai, which would later become the Labour party. | - 1959: Elected a member of parliament for Mapai, which would later become the Labour party. |
| - 1984-1986: Prime minister of a Labour-Likud government of national unity. | - 1984-1986: Prime minister of a Labour-Likud government of national unity. |
| - 1993: Oversees secret negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which lead to the signing of the Oslo accords. | - 1993: Oversees secret negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which lead to the signing of the Oslo accords. |
| - 1994: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Yitzhak Rabin (assassinated November 1995) and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (died November 2004) for their role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. | - 1994: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Yitzhak Rabin (assassinated November 1995) and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (died November 2004) for their role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. |
| - 1995: Succeeds Rabin after his murder on November 4 as premier and head of the Labour party. | - 1995: Succeeds Rabin after his murder on November 4 as premier and head of the Labour party. |
| - June 2007: Elected Israel’s ninth president. | - June 2007: Elected Israel’s ninth president. |
| - July 2014: Stands down as president nine days before his 91st birthday and during the Gaza war, handing over his duties to Reuven Rivlin. | - July 2014: Stands down as president nine days before his 91st birthday and during the Gaza war, handing over his duties to Reuven Rivlin. |
| 4.09am BST | 4.09am BST |
| 04:09 | 04:09 |
| Ted Cruz, the US Republican senator, has released a statement paying tribute to Peres’s “exceptional service to the Jewish state” and his “enduring friendship with the United States.” | Ted Cruz, the US Republican senator, has released a statement paying tribute to Peres’s “exceptional service to the Jewish state” and his “enduring friendship with the United States.” |
| “My thoughts and prayers are with his family and our close ally Israel. May his memory be a blessing,” the statement said. | “My thoughts and prayers are with his family and our close ally Israel. May his memory be a blessing,” the statement said. |
| 3.57am BST | 3.57am BST |
| 03:57 | 03:57 |
| Ben Jacobs | Ben Jacobs |
| Former US president George HW Bush has lauded Peres’s “singular life of service – to the universal cause of freedom, to the timeless cause of Israel, to the noblest cause of peace.” | Former US president George HW Bush has lauded Peres’s “singular life of service – to the universal cause of freedom, to the timeless cause of Israel, to the noblest cause of peace.” |
| In a statement sent to the Guardian he said: | In a statement sent to the Guardian he said: |
| By his unyielding determination and principle, Shimon Peres time and again helped guide his beloved country through the crucible of mortal challenge. But it was by his innate humanity, his decency, that Shimon inspired the world over and helped pave a path to peace broad enough that future generations will walk it one day, side-by side.” | By his unyielding determination and principle, Shimon Peres time and again helped guide his beloved country through the crucible of mortal challenge. But it was by his innate humanity, his decency, that Shimon inspired the world over and helped pave a path to peace broad enough that future generations will walk it one day, side-by side.” |
| 3.52am BST | 3.52am BST |
| 03:52 | 03:52 |
| Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto has sent his condolences to Peres’s family and the Israeli nation. | Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto has sent his condolences to Peres’s family and the Israeli nation. |
| Lamento la partida del ex mandatario de Israel y Premio Nobel de la Paz, Shimon Peres. Nuestras condolencias a su familia y connacionales. | Lamento la partida del ex mandatario de Israel y Premio Nobel de la Paz, Shimon Peres. Nuestras condolencias a su familia y connacionales. |
| 3.49am BST | 3.49am BST |
| 03:49 | 03:49 |
| Peres's family confirm his death | Peres's family confirm his death |
| Peter Beaumont | Peter Beaumont |
| Peres’s death has been confirmed by by his son-in-law and doctor Rafi Walden who said that the statesman died around 3am on Wednesday morning. | Peres’s death has been confirmed by by his son-in-law and doctor Rafi Walden who said that the statesman died around 3am on Wednesday morning. |
| 3.47am BST | 3.47am BST |
| 03:47 | 03:47 |
| World leaders have started to send their tributes to Peres. The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau posted on Twitter that Peres was “above all, a man of peace”. | World leaders have started to send their tributes to Peres. The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau posted on Twitter that Peres was “above all, a man of peace”. |
| Shimon Peres was, above all, a man of peace. My deepest condolences to his loved ones and to the people of Israel on his passing. | Shimon Peres was, above all, a man of peace. My deepest condolences to his loved ones and to the people of Israel on his passing. |
| 3.42am BST | 3.42am BST |
| 03:42 | 03:42 |
| Peter Beaumont | Peter Beaumont |
| Peres died at 3.40 am in the Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv where he had ben treated since suffering a stroke on September 13 surrounded by his family who told Israel radio he was “fighting until the end.” | Peres died at 3.40 am in the Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv where he had ben treated since suffering a stroke on September 13 surrounded by his family who told Israel radio he was “fighting until the end.” |
| 3.40am BST | 3.40am BST |
| 03:40 | 03:40 |
| Our picture desk has collated a gallery images from the life of Shimon Peres. | Our picture desk has collated a gallery images from the life of Shimon Peres. |
| 3.26am BST | 3.26am BST |
| 03:26 | 03:26 |
| Family to hold press conference | Family to hold press conference |
| Peres’s family are due to hold a press conference, where they are expected to confirm his death, at 7am in Israel (in about one and a half hours’s time). | Peres’s family are due to hold a press conference, where they are expected to confirm his death, at 7am in Israel (in about one and a half hours’s time). |
| 3.24am BST | 3.24am BST |
| 03:24 | 03:24 |
| Shimon Peres has died aged 93 | Shimon Peres has died aged 93 |
| The government-run Israel News Agency has confirmed that Shimon Peres, who twice served as prime minister of Israel and later as the country’s ninth president, has died following a stroke. | The government-run Israel News Agency has confirmed that Shimon Peres, who twice served as prime minister of Israel and later as the country’s ninth president, has died following a stroke. |
| We will collate reaction from around the world as it comes in. | We will collate reaction from around the world as it comes in. |
| Here you can read more about Peres’s life and his legacy, by Jerusalem correspondent Peter Beaumont. | Here you can read more about Peres’s life and his legacy, by Jerusalem correspondent Peter Beaumont. |