Israel begins mourning for Shimon Peres

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin joined crowds of mourners to pay their respects to former leader Shimon Peres on Thursday morning. The politicians laid wreaths beside the casket of the ex-president and Nobel Peace laureate as it laid in state outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Former US President Bill Clinton was also in attendance, the first of many world politicians expected to join the ceremonies honoring the late prime minister.

Draped in Israel's blue and white flag, Peres' coffin will remain in the plaza throughout the day to allow Israelis to come pay their respects to their ninth president. Thousands are expected to pass through.

One of the last founding fathers of Israel, Peres transformed from minister of defense and a hawkish supporter of the settlement movement to a proponent of the two-state solution and an advocate for peace. He served as prime minister three times, and was president from 2007 to 2014.

The world pays tribute

In 1994, Peres was honored, alongside Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, with the Nobel Peace prize for the role in the Oslo Accords. He died on September 28 at 93 of complications from a stroke.

US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and Britain's Prince Charles are just a few of the world leaders expected to arrive in Jerusalem for Peres' funeral procession on Friday. It's expected to be the largest state memorial since the assassination of then-Prime Minister Rabin in 1995.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has also asked to attend Friday's funeral. This will mark his first official visit to Jerusalem in years. Although many Palestinians have decried Peres as a "war criminal," Abbas praised him as a "brave" partner in the peace process.

Some 7,000 police officers have lined the streets of the capital in preparation for Thursday and Friday's events.

es/blc (AP, AFP)