Former Israeli PM Shamir dies

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Shamir listens to introductions before he addresses a convention of U.S. Jewish leaders on November 21, 1991, in Baltimore. The former soldier, spy and statesman has died at the age of 96, Israeli officials said on June 30, 2012.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Shamir shake hands in New York before a dinner sponsored by Israel Bonds in October 1998. Gorbachev was honored for allowing mass emigration of Jews to Israel starting in 1988. Shamir, who led the right-wing Likud bloc, served as prime minister from 1983 to 1984 and from 1986 to 1992.

Shamir, left, waves to supporters July 5, 1989, in Tel Aviv as he and his two rivals, Ariel Sharon. center, and David Levy, right, walk in to address the Likud Central Committee. Shamir was military leader of the extremist Stern Gang between 1944 and 1946, and was behind a series of anti-British attacks, before Israel declared its independence in 1948. Shamir had withdrawn from public life over the past decade, silenced by Alzheimer's disease.

Shamir, left, meets with General Antoine Lahad, commander of the South Lebanese Army, during their tour of Israel's self-declared security zone January 26, 1989, in southern Lebanon.

Shamir and Labor Party leader Yitzhak Rabin shake hands in Qatzerin on the Golan Heights on June 10, 1992. The two candidates for prime minister were at an event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the capture of the Golan Heights from Syria.

Shamir, left, speaks with adviser Benjamin Netanyahu, right, at the Madrid Middle East Peace conference in Madrid on October 30, 1991. Netanyahu is now in his second tenure as Israel's prime minister.

French foreign trade official Dominique Strauss-Kahn, center left, shakes hands with Shamir on May 27, 1992, in Jerusalem during an official visit.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Shamir meet in the White House on February 18, 1987.

Shamir attends a street-naming ceremony on April 15, 1992, commemorating deceased members of the Lehi, the underground militants who fought the British in Petah Tikva.

Shamir wipes his eye during a commemorative ceremony on May 5, 1992, in Jerusalem for soldiers who died in Israel's wars.

A photo of Shamir from June 1977, during his tenure as speaker of the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

• NEW: Shimon Peres calls Shamir a "brave warrior"
• The 96-year-old politician was involved in key foreign policy initiatives
• Netanyahu says he 'belonged to the generation of giants" that established the state
• Shamir led Israel during the first Gulf War, when Iraqi missiles fell on Israel

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir died Saturday, the country's prime minister's office said. He was 96.

Shamir twice served as Israeli premier: from 1983 to 1984, and from 1986 to 1992. He also was Israel's foreign minister from 1980 to 1986.

Born in Poland, Shamir moved to Palestine and fought for Israeli independence. He joined the Likud movement, serving as a member of Israel's parliament, and also worked for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service.

He succeeded Menachem Begin as prime minister in 1983.

"Yitzhak Shamir belonged to the generation of giants who established the State of Israel and fought for the freedom of the Jewish people on their land," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fellow Likud member.

It was during Shamir's second term as prime minister that the Gulf War broke out, leaving him with the question of how to respond to Iraqi Scud missiles falling on Israeli soil.

Israeli government and military officials pressed him to retaliate and the United States urged him not to, and Shamir ultimately assured Washington he would not strike back.

Shamir also presided over negotiations with Egypt on the post-treaty normalization process, and started diplomatic relations with several African countries that had severed relations with Israel after the Yom Kippur War, according to a biography of Shamir on the prime minister's website.

Shamir ordered Operation Solomon, the airlift rescue of thousands of Ethiopian Jews following a regime change in 1991. During the operation, which took less than 48 hours, 14,000 Jews boarded Israeli planes to emigrate to Israel, according to the Israeli government.

In September 1991, Shamir represented Israel at the International Peace Conference in Madrid.

Israeli President Shimon Peres called Shamir a "brave warrior."

"He fought with courage against the British mandate in the days of the underground and his incredible contribution to the State of Israel during his time in the Mossad will remain forever enshrined in the tales of bravery of our nation," Peres said in a statement.