Abbas plans to attend Peres funeral despite outrage in Palestine
President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas reportedly plans to attend the funeral of former Israeli leader Shimon Peres, who is remembered as a war criminal among Palestinian people.
Several sources in the PA confirmed on Thursday that Abbas was set to participate in the funeral, which will be held in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds on Friday.
Israeli officials also said Abbas had sought permission to cross into the occupied part of the West Bank from Ramallah to attend the ceremony.
Peres, known as one of the main pillars of the Israeli occupation, died on Wednesday at 93 following a stroke two weeks ago.
The planned visit, which has been called a rare one, comes despite the outpour of welcome among Palestinians to the news of Peres’ death.
Some high-profile figures in Ramallah had earlier rejected Abbas’ designation of Peres as a “brave” partner for peace, saying he was no more than a “war criminal.”
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which governs the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, welcomed the death of Peres, saying he was “one of the last Israeli founders of occupation.”
Hamas also called on Palestinians to hold a “Day of Rage” on Friday concurrently with his funeral.
On the streets of Palestinian cities, people also recalled Peres for his “war crimes” as well as his active involvement in several massacres against Palestinian and Lebanese civilians over the past decades.
Peres was known as the Israeli entity’s last remaining “founding father.”
During his tenure as president, the Israeli military launched two brutal wars against blockaded Gaza in 2009 and 2014, killing some 3,700 Palestinians. Peres was also a staunch supporter of the crippling Israeli siege on the Palestinian enclave.
When he was in office as premier in 1996, the regime shelled a United Nations compound near Qana, a village in southern Lebanon, where hundreds of locals were sheltering. The raid killed 106 people and injured around 116 others.
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