World leaders have hailed the vision of the late Israeli leader, Shimon Peres, as he is laid to rest days after his death at the age of 93.
US President Barack Obama said the presence of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the funeral was a reminder of the “unfinished business of peace”.
Mr Abbas was among dozens of foreign dignitaries attending in Jerusalem.
Security was intensified ahead of the ceremony, with several people arrested.
Delivering an emotional address, Mr Netanyahu said that while Israel and the world grieved for Mr Peres there was hope in his legacy.
“Shimon lived a life of purpose,” he told thousands gathered at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery.
“He soared to incredible heights. He swept so many with his vision and his hope. He was a great man of Israel.
“He was a great man of the world.”
‘Biggest dreamer’
Former US President Bill Clinton, who helped negotiate the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians in the 1990s, said he was Israel’s “biggest dreamer”.
“He imagined all the things the rest of us could do. He started life as Israel’s brightest student, became its best teacher and ended up its biggest dreamer.”
Who was Shimon Peres?
First elected to the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in 1959
Served in 12 governments, including once as president and twice as prime minister
Seen as a hawk in his early years, when he negotiated arms deals for the fledgling nation
In 1996 he ordered the so-called Operation Grapes of Wrath operation against Beirut in retaliation for Lebanese Hezbollah’s escalated rocket fire on northern Israel. The bombing campaign killed and injured hundreds of civilians
A member of the government that approved the building of Jewish settlements on occupied territory, but came to view their future as negotiable.
Played a key part in reaching the Oslo peace accords, the first deal between Israel and the Palestinians, which said they would “strive to live in peaceful coexistence”.
