November 5, 1995
Web posted at: 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT)
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The body of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was brought Sunday to Jerusalem, where it will lie in state outside the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, until a Monday funeral to be attended by world leaders, including U.S. President Clinton. But Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, who shared a Nobel Peace prize with Rabin and expressed shock at "this awful, terrible crime," will not attend the funeral for security reasons. "Arafat's attendance at the funeral needs very complicated preparations," the PLO leader's spokesman said.
Rabin, 73, was shot and killed by a Jewish law student after a peace rally in King's Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Police said Yigal Amir, 25, had links to Jewish extremists opposed to Rabin's efforts to make peace with Israel's Arab neighbors. According to police, Amir confessed to the crime, saying he acted on God's orders and did not regret killing Rabin. When told by interrogators that Rabin had died, he said, "I'm satisfied," according to Israel radio.
An Israeli military command car carried Rabin's flag-draped coffin to Jerusalem. The slow-moving motorcade took two hours to make what is usually a 50-minute trip from Tel Aviv. Escorting the coffin were six Israeli army generals who helped load it onto the vehicle. On the coffin's arrival in Jerusalem, the army's chief rabbi chanted (280K AIFF sound or 280K WAV sound) kaddish, the traditional Jewish prayer (296K AIFF sound or 296K WAV sound) for the dead.
Rabin's death has left a void. His government has now become a transitional one. President Ezer Weizman must decide whether acting Prime Minister Shimon Peres or opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu is capable of pulling together a government.
Peres appears to have the better chance, in light of the fact that the opposition's attempts to control the government have failed so far. But the composition of the Knesset reflects that the government has a slim hold, with 61 of the 120 seats.
The chosen leader will have 21 days in which to form a government. However, the president can grant an extra 21 days, if need be. If the new leader doesn't fulfill the requirements for a new government in the time allotted, then he must return his mandate to the president.
It promises to be a fierce and intense competition as both main parties vie for the support of the smaller parties.
With the demands of acting prime minister, as well as the pursuit of small party support, Peres will find it difficult to carve out time for peace negotiations with the Palestinians or with Syria.
Israeli law says that a transitional government has all of the powers of an ordinary one. However, the opposition party will argue that the transitional government does not have the moral authority to make extensive territorial decisions.
In any case, it is a time of soul-searching for Israelis. It is not an easy time, because now they must ask themselves why this has happened and where should they go from here.
Rabin's last words to those who were devoted to peace will be his legacy. Speaking to those gathered at the peace rally shortly before he was killed, the prime minister said:
"The peace is an open door to economic and social progress. The peace is not only in prayer but it is the true desire of the Jewish people.
"There are enemies to the peace process, and they are trying to hurt us, in order to destroy it.
"I want to say we have found partners in the peace among the Palestinians. The PLO was an enemy. Without partners to the peace, there is no peace."
![[Imagemap]](/WORLD/images/world_nav.gif)
Copyright © 1995 Cable News Network, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
External sites are not necessarily endorsed by CNN Interactive.