Ex-Israeli PM Shamir, 96, dies

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TEL AVIV, Israel, June 30 (UPI) -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir died Saturday at a Tel Aviv nursing home following a long illness. He was 96.

Shamir, who was Israel's prime minister from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992, will be laid to rest in a state funeral Monday, The Jerusalem Post reported. There will be a procession from the Knesset, where the public can pay its respects, to Jerusalem's Mount Herzl Cemetery, the newspaper said.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Shamir "belonged to the generation of giants that established the state of Israel and fought for the freedom of the Jewish people in its land."

The Obama administration issued a statement noting Shamir "dedicated his life to the state of Israel" and extending the United States' condolences.

"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," the statement from the White House press secretary's office said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the people of Israel."

Shamir was born in Ruzhany, then part of Poland in the Russian Empire and now part of Belarus.