Bill Clinton, world leaders and thousands of mourners pay their final respects to former Israeli PM Shimon Peres before his state funeral
Nobel Peace Prize winner, 93, died on Wednesday in hospital near Tel Aviv after suffering stroke two weeks ago
LEADING figures from around the world are arriving in Jerusalem ahead of the funeral of former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
Former and current world leaders will be among those attending the state funeral of the Nobel Peace Prize winner tomorrow.
Prince Charles, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are all expected to attend the ceremony at Mount Herzl Cemetery on Friday.
Until then, Peres’ body will lie in state outside the country’s parliament, the Knesset.
Former US president Bill Clinton was among those seen paying his respects today.
She appeared to go back on an initial suggestion that she would pay her respects in person - instead opting to focus on the campaign trail.
Leading Israeli politicians such as current President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were also seen visiting the coffin today.
Thousands of ordinary citizens also flocked to say their final goodbyes to the much-loved ex-leader.
Some Israelis were seen snapping selfies in front of the coffin as it lay draped in the national flag and guarded by soldiers.
Israeli police say 8,000 police officers have been deployed to maintain order during the mourning period.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Thursday that officers will also monitor social media for possible terror attackers.
It is expected to be the largest such gathering in Israel since the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated by a Jewish nationalist in 1995.
European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker sent a letter of condolence to the current president ahead of the funeral.
In it they called Peres "a champion of peace" who forged "close ties of friendship and cooperation between Israel and other parts of the world, including Europe."
The ex-PM was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his role in negotiating the Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians the previous year.
The deal is widely considered to be the closest the two sides have ever come to a lasting peace agreement.
Peres died on Wednesday at the age of 93 in a hospital near Tel Aviv after suffering a stroke two weeks ago.
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