Despite ninth president’s efforts to promote peace in the Middle East, no Arab leader will pay tribute in person • Egypt, Jordan to send their ambassadors • PA President Abbas will not attend funeral • Arab media paints unflattering portrait of Peres.
Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff
In a surprising move, no Arab leader will arrive in Israel to attend the funeral of former President Shimon Peres, who died on Wednesday.
Dozens of world leaders are expected to attend the funeral, and began arriving in Israel on Thursday morning.
The decision by Arab officials to avoid the service puzzled many in the Foreign Ministry, given the ninth president’s significant contribution to promoting peace in the Middle East.
Egypt and Jordan, with which Israel has peace treaties, said their ambassadors in Israel would attend the service.
A senior Jordanian defense source cited King Abdullah II’s rigorous security as the reason for his absence.
Morocco, which maintains no diplomatic ties with Israel, was the only Arab state outside Jordan and Egypt to announce it would pay its respects to the late president, with Rabat informing Jerusalem Thursday morning that King Mohammed VI of Morocco will send an emissary to represent him at the service.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas conveyed his condolences to Peres’ family.
In a missive to the family, Abbas called Peres, who was one of the architects of the 1993 Oslo Accords, “a courageous leader,” saying he “spared to effort to strike lasting peace, from the Oslo Accords to his last day.”
Still, neither Abbas nor any other Palestinian Authority official will attend Friday’s state funeral at the Great Leaders of the Nation plot on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
Arab media outlets reported on Peres’ passing, but unlike their Western counterparts, which focused on the life and legacy of the man hailed as one of Israel’s founding fathers, the Arab media focused mostly on his involvement, as defense minister, in Israel’s wars.
The Palestinian news agency Maan posted a small report, stating the basic facts about Peres’ passing.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Palestinian media that “Shimon Peres’ hands are stained with the blood of Palestinians” and that “near the end of his life, Peres articulated compromising positions.”
Hezbollah’s Al Manar Television described Peres as “the spiritual father of the Zionist nuclear program,” because of his involvement in the inception of the Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona.
The Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen network, affiliated with both Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar Assad, posted a laconic report titled, “Shimon Peres, one of the founders of the Israeli entity, dies.”
Sky News Arabia, broadcast in the Persian Gulf, described Peres as the “godfather of [Israeli] armaments and founder of the settlements.”
The Saudi Al-Arabiya network said he was “one of those responsible for the expulsion of Palestinians” in 1947.
the only thing that surprises me is the never ending jewish fascination of drooling over those who despise them.
Why should a Jew care, why would a Jew even want any of them there? Most of the arabs are muslims and muslim tenets aver that “Jews are sons of apes and pigs” along with many other such similar beliefss.
Are Jews masochists, gluttons for punishment, perennial “please sir can I have more gruel” beggars? shoudn’t Jews keep far away from those with such philosophies and hold them in contempt? And yet some jews cant help but focus on their every move hoping for some positive dripping from their posteriors. Its becoming pathetic to linger and swoon over words and actions of such folk. Jews should have better, higher, more intelligent folks, ideas and behaviors than this lot of lunatic cretins.