EU leaders have paid tribute to Shimon Peres who passed away last week (28 September) aged 93, two weeks after he had suffered a massive stroke. Shimon Peres, who was born in Poland and emigrated to Tel Aviv at the age of 10, began his political career as a military attaché and eventually served as Israel’s president, prime minister, defense minister, foreign minister and finance minister. He spent decades in public service since the founding of Israel in 1948.
EU’s chief of diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, tweeted that she was heartbroken at the death of Shimon Peres, whom she called a man of peace and an immense source of inspiration. She said that the only way to honor his memory is to head towards two states. EU Parliament President commented that “We lose exceptional statesman, a true advocate for peace, security & dignity in Middle East &the world. Condolences to family of Shimon Peres.“ German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier added that “the world has lost a great statesman“.
Shimon Peres‘ funeral, which was held on Friday (30 September), was attended by the world’s leaders such as US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande, US ex-President Bill Clinton and Prince Charles and others. President Peres was buried at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl national cemetery after lying in state at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Thursday (29 September).
Shimon Peres won a Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin, then Israeli Prime Minister, and Yasser Arafat, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for 1993 Oslo Accords that envisioned autonomy for the local, and only for the local, (Palestinian) inhabitants of West Bank and Gaza.
