Gulf Arab official: Rest in peace Shimon Peres
Jerusalem Post/September 29/16
“Rest in peace President Shimon Peres, a man of war and a man of the still elusive peace in the Middle East,” Khalifa posted on his Twitter account.
Even though Bahrain has no official diplomatic relationship, Khalifa has met with Jewish and Israeli leaders including former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in 2007.
Jordanian King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi have not publicly commented on Peres’s death or announced if they plan to attend his funeral Friday morning.
However, the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed reported that Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri will attend the funeral and President Sisi sent a condolence letter to Israeli officials as “is protocol in such circumstances with friendly nations.”
It is still unclear who will officially represent Jordan at the funeral.
Jordanian King Hussein and former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attended and delivered eulogies at the funeral of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent a condolence letter to the Peres family on Wednesday, expressing his “sadness and sorrow” of the former Israeli statesman’s death.
Abbas said Peres made “unremitting efforts to reach a permanent peace since the Oslo Accords until his last moments.”
The Palestinian leadership still has not announced who will attend the funeral, but Al-Araby al-Jadeed reported that “a high-ranking,” Palestinian delegation will come.
Late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat did not attend the funeral of the Rabin, but sat Shiva with the Rabin family.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry has confirmed that top, international leaders will attend the funeral including US President Barack Obama, former US President Bill Clinton, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and many others.
Peres, 93, died on Wednesday morning two weeks after suffering a stroke.
