JERUSALEM (AP) -- Former Israeli President Ezer Weizman, a flying ace and crack military commander who built up the nation's air force and helped bring about the Jewish state's first peace treaty with an Arab country, has died, Israeli officials said Sunday. He was 80.
Weizman was president between 1993-2000. In three decades in political life, he made a highly public transition from hawk to dove, saying the Jews had to learn to "share this part of the world" with the Arabs.
The Maariv daily newspaper said Weizman died Sunday evening with his family at his bedside.
As defense minister in 1979, he was instrumental in negotiating Israel's peace treaty with Egypt.
Weizman, a political moderate who pioneered contacts with Palestinian leaders, later resigned from then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin's Cabinet, complaining about his strict interpretation of interim peace accords with Egypt about the Palestinians.
Ariel Sharon, now Israel's premier, replaced Weizman.
Weizman's casual style breathed life into the presidency, a largely ceremonial office, and endeared him to the Israeli public.
His vacillation on issues of peace reflected the uncertainty of ordinary Israelis -- he cooed dovish when they favored territorial concessions and called for a slow-down when they feared things were moving too fast.
His bluntness and sharp-tongued barbs often got him into trouble with other politicians who accused him of overstepping his authority.
His last year as president was marred by scandal when he became the target of a police investigation into fraud and breach of public trust.