Netanyahu: Every decision he made was based on what he thought was good for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.
Yitzhak Shamir, Israel’s seventh prime minister, was laid to rest on Monday in Jerusalem's Mount Herzl cemetery.
Shamir, who died Saturday at the age of 96, was buried in a section of Mount Herzl set aside for Israel's leaders.
President Shimon Peres, who delivered a eulogy for Shamir at the funeral, recalled how the two had spent six years serving in the same unity government. While their ideologies different, he said, their worldviews were based on the same foundations.
"Yitzhak Shamir was a man at peace with himself. Steadfast in his opinions. Winds that blew could not bend him. Passing trends did not tempt him. His ideology grew out of the history of our nation. He believed our past is what granted legitimacy to the present," said Peres.
Also speaking at the funeral, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of Shamir's modest nature, saying the former resistance leader was "an unknown soldier in the underground, before the formation of the state, and an unknown soldier in the Mossad after the state was formed."
The premier added that even as a prominent politician, Shamir had always seemed as though "he continued to see himself as that unknown soldier serving the people and the state."
"He never asked anything for himself, never wanted recognition, popularity, or honor. Every act and decision he made were considered in the light of one question: Is it good for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel," Netanyahu added.
Earlier Monday, Americans for Peace Now President and CEO Debra DeLee released a statement calling Shamir "a patriot who cared deeply about his country's security and wellbeing."
"We did not agree with his hardline policies on peace with the Palestinians and with Israel’s neighboring Arab states, but we recognized Mr. Shamir’s dedication to his country and his people and his deep sense of responsibility for Israel’s security," she said.
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