White House offers condolences on death of former Israeli PM Shamir

The White House offered condolences Saturday after the death of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir at 96.

“Yitzhak Shamir dedicated his life to the State of Israel.  From his days working for Israel's independence to his service as Prime Minister, he strengthened Israel's security and advanced the partnership between the United States and Israel,” said a statement from the White House press secretary. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the people of Israel."

Reports said Shamir, who served two stints as prime minister, from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992, had suffered from Alzheimer’s for years and passed away in a nursing home north of Tel Aviv. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also paid tribute, saying Shamir had “led Israel with a deep loyalty to the nation and to the land and to the eternal values of the Jewish people,” reports said.

Shamir, who was born in Poland in 1915, emigrated to pre-state Palestine in 1935, according to reports. After the founding of Israel he served in the Mossad intelligence services before entering politics. 

His time in the prime minister’s office was marked most notably by the 1991 Gulf war, when U.S.-led coalition forces pushed Iraqi troops out of Kuwait and by Operation Solomon, when Shamir ordered the airlifting of thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

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