- Title: VARIOUS: Family and friends honour Rabin on 10th anniversary of murder
- Date: 4th November 2005
- Summary: ISRAELI VICE PREMIER SHIMON PERES AND OFFICIALS HOLDING FLOWERS; WIDE RABIN'S GRAVE; RELATIVES AND OFFICIALS LAYING FLOWERS ON GRAVE; PERES LAYING FLOWERS ON GRAVE; RABIN-PHILOSOPH LAYING FLOWERS ON GRAVE (3 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 19th November 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVA1KWNPAN0ZKUC5LD5N78H8LI0M
- Story Text: Families and friends gathered at Jerusalem's military cemetery on Friday (November 4, 2005) to honour the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the 10th anniversary of his assassination, which stunned Israel and sent it into political and social turmoil.
Rabin was shot dead at a peace rally in Tel Aviv, by Yigal Amir, a right-wing extremist who opposed Israel's talks with the Palestinians.
Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who was Rabin's comrade in the initiation of the 1994 Oslo agreements with the Palestinians, said that if Rabin was alive today he would have made a major contribution to the peace process.
"What he started is a start that will never be forgotten and we shall continue to act in the same way until we shall achieve the most noble goal of our life, that is peace among ourselves and our neighbours," Peres told Reuters Television.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who aspires to regain leadership of Rabin's Labour party, said that the assassination had affected tremendously life in Israel, both politically and socially.
"We have not yet internalised the meaning of this crime but I still hope for the better for Israel. But now more than any other day the man Rabin is missing from our landscape. We miss him," Barak said following the ceremony.
Rabin, who took power in 1992, was shot at a Tel Aviv peace rally by a Jewish ultranationilst, Yigal Amir, who opposed his talks with the Palestinians.
Rabin's murder stunned Israelis but also an entire world that had pinned its hopes on the former general to get the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians back on track.
Born in Jerusalem, Rabin began his career in the Israeli army and served as a chief during the 1967's October war.
Leading the Labour Party he was elected prime minister in 1974 and held the post until 1977. He took power again in 1992.
With Shimon Peres, Rabin initiated the 1994 Oslo agreements with the Palestinians - a bold move towards peace after decades of conflict with the Palestinians.
In 1994 Rabin, Peres and late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat received The Nobel Prize for Peace for the breakthrough - which has since been overshadowed by five years of a Palestinian uprising.
On November 4, 1995, after he was honoured by hundreds of thousands of supporters at a peace rally, Rabin was murdered by a Jewish gunman who strongly opposed his political agenda. Rabin was laid to rest at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl.
State commemorations will be held on November 14 - the Jewish calendar anniversary of his murder. Events beginning early next week include gatherings to be addressed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and other high-ranking officials. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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