Inside Story

Shimon Peres: Man of peace or war criminal?

Long-serving Israeli politician leaves a mixed legacy after winning a Nobel Peace Prize, but also accused of war crimes.

On Friday, leaders from around the world will attend the funeral of one of Israel’s founding fathers.

Shimon Peres died on Wednesday at the age of 93. He was a former president and prime minister and also defence minister.

Peres shared the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. But some see him as a war criminal.

He was behind a 1996 attack on a village in southern Lebanon that killed more than 100 people. He was also widely considered the architect of Israel’s secretive nuclear weapons programme.

In later years, Peres was instrumental in pushing for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

What is the legacy of Shimon Peres?

Presenter: Jane Dutton

Guests: 

Mitchell Barak – political analyst and former spokesman for Shimon Peres

Mustafa Barghouti – secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative

Ian Black – London School of Economics