Remembering a peacemaker: Memorial to Israel's Rabin is today

Yitzhak Rabin

It's been 5 years since prime minister's assassination

In this story: Israel's first native-born prime minister Rabin's Egyptian agreement Peacemaking leads to peace prize RELATED STORIES, SITES

CNN Correspondent Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Thousands of people are expected to gather Saturday in Tel Aviv, Israel, for a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, one of the principal authors of the Mideast peace process.

Security was heightened at the memorial location to guard against possible violence.

Rabin was assassinated in Tel Aviv on November 4, 1995, by a Jewish extremist opposed to peace with the Palestinians.

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Rabin was gunned down, at age 73, as he left a rally for peace that had been staged in a city square beneath a large banner that read "Yes to Peace, No to Violence."

The convicted assassin, 25-year-old Yigal Amir, told a judge during his arraignment that he had killed Rabin because the Israeli leader wanted to "give our country to the Arabs."

Rabin, credited with launching the Middle East peace process, was the first Israeli prime minister to shake hands with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

Last November, Rabin's wife, Leah, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Shimon Peres, who served as foreign minister in Rabin's Cabinet, unveiled a memorial wall marking the spot where Rabin was killed.

Two plaques frame a wall of graffiti, scrawled by mourners on the night Rabin was murdered, at the site. The plaques read: "Rabin was murdered in the struggle for peace."

First Israeli-born prime minister

Rabin, Israel's first native-born prime minister, was born in Jerusalem in 1922, received his high school diploma with distinction and served in an elite strike force of Israel's military.

Promoted to major-general at age 32, he retired from the Israel Defense Forces in 1968 after 26 years of service. Shortly after, Rabin was named Israeli ambassador to the United States.

In 1973, at the end of his term, Rabin returned to Israel, joined the Labor Party and was elected to the Knesset, Israel's parliament. He was named Labor minister in March 1974, but the government was short-lived.

In June 1974, Rabin formed a new government, which passed a confidence vote in the Knesset, and began his first term as prime minister.

Rabin's Egyptian agreement

Rabin negotiated an agreement with Egypt in 1975 that led to Israel's withdrawing from the Suez Canal. In exchange, Israeli ships were guaranteed free passage through the canal. The agreement led to the first U.S.-Israeli memorandum renewing U.S. aid to Israel.

Rabin's government lost a no-confidence vote in 1977, prompting new elections. He resigned from the party during the campaign after it was learned his wife had a bank account in the United States, in violation of Israeli international currency regulations.

He continued to serve in the Knesset until June 1992 -- including six years as defense minister -- when he began his second term as prime minister.

Peacemaking leads to Nobel Prize

During his second term as prime minister, Rabin, aided by Peres, negotiated the Declaration of Principles with Palestinian leaders, which led to discussions regarding the creation of the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian autonomy in Gaza.

Rabin, Peres and Arafat were named co-recipients of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for securing the agreement. In October 1994, Rabin signed a peace treaty with Jordan.

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