- Title: Former Israeli president Shimon Peres in grave condition -media
- Date: 27th September 2016
- Summary: SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER, NEAR TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (SEPTEMBER 27, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF MEDICAL CENTER PEOPLE AT HOSPITAL ISRAEL INTERIOR MINISTER, ARYEH DERI, WALKING TOWARD MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAEL INTERIOR MINISTER, ARYEH DERI, SAYING: "We have just held prayers, psalms, near his bedside, near his room, Former President Shimon Peres. The Jewish elders say that even if a sword is placed on the neck of a person, you should not give up hope. We continue to pray and hope but at the same time, we heard of his serious and deterioration condition. We are all praying." DERI LEAVING
- Embargoed: 12th October 2016 18:51
- Keywords: Israel former president Shimon Peres condition
- Location: SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER, NEAR TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
- City: SHEBA MEDICAL CENTER, NEAR TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
- Country: Israel
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA00151CEU6F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Close relatives of former Israeli president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres rushed to his hospital bedside on Tuesday (September 27) amid media reports that his condition had deteriorated and he was close to death.
Peres, 93, was hospitalised following a stroke two weeks ago and his condition was improving before he suffered a severe setback on Tuesday, according to Israeli media.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party visited Peres's bedside on Tuesday and, close to tears, told reporters afterwards: "we heard of his serious and deterioration condition."
A hospital spokeswoman said in a phone conversation that his condition "was and remains serious, there is a real threat to his life. He arrived two weeks ago when we were more optimistic but over time there has been no improvement, so naturally there is less optimism".
Peres, Israel's most eminent elder statesman, was part of almost every major development from 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 Nobel Peace Prize with the late former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for reaching, in 1993, an interim peace deal which never hardened into a lasting treaty.
Family members seen arrived to the hospital declined to comment on Peres's condition. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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