September 28, 2016 | No Comments
Former President Bill Clinton will travel to Israel later this week for the funeral service of former Israeli Prime Minister and President Shimon Peres, a spokesman confirmed Wednesday morning.
Clinton’s press secretary confirmed that the former is planning to attend the service, scheduled for Friday in Jerusalem. According to the Associated Press, Israel’s foreign ministry said Clinton will be joined by his wife Hillary Clinton, although her presidential campaign has yet to confirm whether or not she plans to attend.
Peres died Tuesday night at the age of 93, two weeks after suffering a stroke. He was one of Israel’s most prominent political figures and his career spanned the length of the nation’s existence. He shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, another Israeli prime minister, for their work towards peace, an effort that was backed by then-President Bill Clinton.
“With the passing of Shimon Peres, Israel has lost a leader who championed its security, prosperity, and limitless possibilities from its birth to his last day on earth,” the Clintons said in a joint statement released after Peres’s death. “The Middle East has lost a fervent advocate for peace and reconciliation and for a future where all the children of Abraham build a better tomorrow together.”
President Barack Obama is also expected to attend Friday’s funeral, as is Secretary of State John Kerry. Other world leaders, including French President Francois Hollande, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Britain’s Prince Charles are all expected to attend, according to the AP.