- Title: Shimon Peres represented an 'idea of peace', EU's Schulz says
- Date: 28th September 2016
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FILE) (REUTERS) FLAGS OF EU MEMBER STATES OUTSIDE EU PARLIAMENT BUILDING
- Embargoed: 13th October 2016 10:08
- Keywords: Perez EU European Parliament president reaction European Union Israel Schulz
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00351HCDHJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: European Parliament President Martin Schulz on Wednesday (September 28) paid tribute to former Israeli President and Peace Nobel prize winner Shimon Peres, saying he represented an 'idea of peace and cooperation.'
"It is with great sadness that we learnt that (Former Israeli President) Shimon Peres passed away. The Israeli people lost a father, a grandfather of the Israeli nation. The world lost a man who fought for peace and for respect. Shimon Peres, who together with (former Prime Minister) Yitzhak Rabin and (late Palestinian leader) Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace prize, was a man who during his whole political life was a man who represented an idea, the idea of peace and cooperation," said Schulz in a video statement he recorded shortly after the announcement.
Peres, 93, who died in Tel Aviv earlier on Wednesday, was hospitalized following a stroke two weeks ago and died in Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv.
Israeli media said the funeral was expected to be held on Friday, although details of the ceremony have not yet been made public.
Peres was part of almost every major development in Israel since the country's founding in 1948. In a career spanning nearly 70 years, he served in a dozen cabinets and was twice a Labour prime minister.
He shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with the late former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for reaching an interim peace deal in 1993 which never turned into a lasting treaty.
Peres held the largely ceremonial post of president from 2007-2014 and used the pulpit to continue to advocate peace.
Earlier in September, after a series of health scares including a mild heart attack, Peres received an artificial pacemaker. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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