以色列前领导人西蒙·佩雷斯去世

Former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres, whose life of public service spans the life of the Israeli nation itself, has died at age 93.

Peres suffered a severe stroke two weeks ago and died Wednesday in the hospital in Tel HaShomer.

He held nearly every major Israeli political post during his long career, including prime minister twice, the presidency, defense minister and foreign minister.

He was the longest serving member of parliament in Israeli history, holding a seat in the Knesset for 48 years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Peres devoted his life to the sovereignty of the Israeli people.

U.S. President Barack Obama said no one did more than Peres to build the alliance between the United States and Israel and described him as someone who forced people to expect more from themselves.

Former President Bill Clinton said that with the death of Peres, the Middle East "has lost a fervent advocate for peace and reconciliation."

His major achievement was as foreign minister with the Oslo Accords -- a deal for Palestinian self-rule for which Peres, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. Rabin was assassinated in 1995.