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TEL AVIV — Israeli ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres died yesterday, some two weeks after suffering a major stroke, triggering an outpouring of grief for the historic figure and beloved statesman. Peres, who was 93, held nearly every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister and also as president, a mostly ceremonial role, from 2007 to 2014.He won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for his role in negotiating the Oslo accords, which envisioned an independent Palestinian state.
Peres died around 3:00am (0000 GMT), Rafi Walden, who was Peres’s personal doctor and also his son-in-law, told AFP.
His family held a press conference later in the morning, praising Peres’s tireless work ethic and what they called his devotion to peace.
“He had no interest other than serving the people of Israel,” said his son Chemi, his eyes moist as he read a letter on behalf of the family at the hospital in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his “profound sadness”.
His body was also to lie in state tomorrow at Israel’s parliament, the Knesset.
Security was being further tightened, with authorities having already increased deployments ahead of the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in October.
Bill Clinton, who helped usher in the Oslo peace accords when he was US president, said: “The Middle East has lost a fervent advocate for peace and reconciliation.” — AFP.
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