Bill Clinton tweeted that 'I will miss Shimon Peres, my brilliant and eloquent friend,' while Tony Blair called the former Israeli president 'an inspiration, a mentor and a friend.'

Leaders from across the world express condolences over the death of former Israeli president Shimon Peres, whose coffin will be on display to the public on Thursday.

With his Yiddish accent, jacket and tie, he wasn’t seen as a real Israeli. In a state that invented the new Jew – sabra, tanned, a soldier, a daring adventurer – he was the old Jew, the exilic Jew.

Shimon Peres was an optimist not blinded by messianism, who responded with dignity, calm, and compelling logic to his persistent critics in Israel and on the American Jewish right.

Olmert appeal was blocked in the affair in which he gave cash-filled envelopes to a U.S. businessman.

Israeli security branches will cooperate to provide security and public order, as scores of international dignitaries will arrive in next two days to pay their respects to Shimon Peres.

While Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expresses his sorrow, Arab media is less cordial, describing the former statesman as 'the butcher of Qana' and 'the engineer of genocide against Arabs.'

The bill, known as JASTA (Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act), allows relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia's government.