JERUSALEM—Former U.S. President Bill Clinton joined thousands of Israeli mourners Thursday who paid their respects to the late Shimon Peres outside Israel’s parliament in Jerusalem, as the country somberly remembered the Nobel-winning politician who helped lead Israel during a remarkable seven-decade career.
Clinton is among the dozens of current and former world leaders, including President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expected to gather in Jerusalem on Friday for Peres’ funeral. The former Israeli president and prime minister died Wednesday, two weeks after suffering a stroke, at the age of 93.
A senior Palestinian official said that Abbas had decided Thursday to attend the funeral, and will come to the event with a small delegation of top aides, including his chief negotiator Saeb Erekat and his security chief Majid Faraj.
