A steady stream of mourners in Jerusalem has been filing past the coffin of the late prime minister Ariel Sharon at Israel's parliament.
President Shimon Peres lays a wreath by the coffin of Ariel Sharon at the Knesset. Photo: AFP
The coffin was taken to the Knesset by a military convoy this morning on Sunday. Draoped in a flag, it was placed on a podium in the plaza outside the building.
Prayers were said as flags flew at half mast.
President Shimon Peres laid a wreath and stood in silence to pay his respects to Mr Sharon, who died on Saturday aged 85, after eight years in a coma.
Politicians will hold a special commemoration on Sunday, before he is buried in southern Israel next to his wife Lili, who died in 2000.
Foreign dignitaries will include US Vice President Joe Biden, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Middle East international envoy Tony Blair and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Mr Sharon was at the height of his political power when he had a massive stroke in January 2006.
A commander in the army from the birth of Israel in 1948, he held many of the top offices of state.
