YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The body of former Israeli Prime Minister and President Shimon Peres will be laid to rest in a funeral attended by world leaders flanked by heavy security, CNN reported. 

Early Friday morning, Peres' casket was loaded onto a hearse for the drive from the Knesset -- the Israeli parliament of which he was a member for more than 45 years -- to the national cemetery at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl.

A long list of dignitaries and foreign leaders arrived in Jerusalem to pay their respects, including President Barack Obama, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the leaders of France and Germany.

A video tweeted by a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed him shaking hands with President Abbas.

The moment appears to have taken place before the two leaders entered the funeral.

Abbas took his seat in the large white tent on Mount Herzl, while Obama sat next to Chemi Peres, one of Shimon Peres' sons.

Around 8,000 police officers have been deployed at key locations to protect world leaders amid fears of a "lone wolf" terrorist attack.

Though Israel Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told CNN Thursday that there was "no concrete intelligence whatsoever" about any potential attacks.

In his eulogy, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Peres had "lived a live of purpose... he was a great man of Israel, he was a great man of the world."

He added: "Israel grieves for him, the world grieves for him, but we find hope in his legacy, as does the world."

Former US president Clinton made an impassioned speech, claiming that Peres' "critics described him as a naive, over-optimistic dreamer. They were only wrong about the naive part.

"He knew exactly what he was doing in being overly optimistic... he never gave up on anybody, I mean anybody.

"He started off life as Israel's brightest student, became its best teacher, and ended up its biggest dreamer."

Clinton added that in Peres' honor, "we remember Shimon Peres' luminous smile, and imagine."

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who gave the first eulogy, said that Peres was "the man of whom we thought time could never stop."

Prince Charles and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson are also attending, along with former UK Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron.

The presidents of France, Germany, Ukraine, the Ivory Coast, Togo, Mexico, Lithuania, Serbia and Romania and NATO's secretary general and the grand duke of Luxembourg, among others were also due to attend.

Arab leaders are notably absent, although the King of Morocco was expected to send a representative.