Israel's former president Shimon Peres Friday said the death of King Abdullah was "a real loss for the peace of the Middle East".

"He was an experienced leader and a wise king. He had the courage ... to stand up and introduce a peace programme for the Middle East," said Peres, referring to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

"I'm not sure that we could have accepted all the items in the peace process but the spirit, the strength and the wisdom invested in it" led to a process that serves still as "a powerful base for making peace," the former Israeli president told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The peace initiative put forward by Abdullah offered Israel blanket recognition from 22 Arab states in return for an independent state for the Palestinians.

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