Israel’s Shimon Peres, 93, dies in Tel Aviv: Israel Radio

Israel's President Shimon Peres takes part in a meeting with Governor General David Johnston (not pictured) at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in this May 7, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Blair Gable/Files
Israel’s President Shimon Peres takes part in a meeting with Governor General David Johnston (not pictured) at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in this May 7, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Blair Gable/Files

 

(Reuters)  Former Israeli president and elder statesman Shimon Peres died in Tel Aviv on Wednesday aged 93, Israel Radio said.

Peres was hospitalized following a stroke two weeks ago and had made some progress before a sudden deterioration in his condition on Tuesday.

An official announcement of the death of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former prime minister was expected at around 7 a.m. local time (04:00 GMT). Details of the timing of the funeral were also expected.

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.

 

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (from L to R) show their shared Nobel Peace Prize awards to the audience in the Oslo City Hall in Oslo in this December 10, 1994 file photo. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen/Files
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (from L to R) show their shared Nobel Peace Prize awards to the audience in the Oslo City Hall in Oslo in this December 10, 1994 file photo. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen/Files

 

Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli ultra-nationalist who opposed the interim accords, and it was Peres who took over as prime minister after Rabin’s death.

Peres is widely seen as having gained nuclear capabilities for Israel by procuring the secret Dimona reactor from France while defense ministry director-general in the 1950s. And as defense minister oversaw the 1976 Israeli rescue of hijacked Israelis at Entebbe airport in Uganda.

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.

(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres in the East Room of the White House in Washington in this June 13, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Jason Reed/Files
U.S. President Barack Obama (L) presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres in the East Room of the White House in Washington in this June 13, 2012 file photo. REUTERS/Jason Reed/Files

 

Israeli President Shimon Peres (C) sits next to former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) during celebrations marking Peres' 90th birthday in Jerusalem in this June 18, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool/Files
Israeli President Shimon Peres (C) sits next to former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) during celebrations marking Peres’ 90th birthday in Jerusalem in this June 18, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool/Files