Tributes and contempt for Sharon
Print Edition
Former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon died in hospital near Tel Aviv yesterday after eight years in a coma, prompting tributes in Israel but contempt from Palestinians. He was 85.
“He’s gone,” his son Gilad told reporters at the Sheba Medical Centre in Tel HaShomer. “He went when he decided to go.”
The former war hero had been in a coma since January 4, 2006, after suffering a massive stroke. His condition took a sudden turn for the worse on New Year’s Day when he suffered kidney problems after surgery.
Hospital chief Professor Shlomo Noy said Sharon’s heart “had weakened” and he died around 12:00 GMT.
Israeli press reports said there would be a state memorial service at the Knesset — or parliament — tomorrow, after which Sharon would be buried at his private ranch in the southern Negev desert.
Sharon was one of Israel’s most skilled but controversial political and military leaders. Hailed by many Israelis as a statesman, his ruthless methods also earned him the moniker “The Bulldozer.”
As news of his death emerged, tributes poured in from Israel and from abroad but Palestinians denounced him as a “criminal.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed “deep sorrow” and said Israel would “forever” cherish Sharon’s memory.
“The State of Israel bows its head over the passing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon,” he said. “His memory will forever be held in the heart of the nation.”
President Shimon Peres said Sharon would be “greatly missed.” “My dear friend, Arik (Ariel) Sharon, lost his final battle today,” he said.
US President Barack Obama paid tribute to him as a leader who “dedicated his life” to Israel, reaffirming Washington’s commitment to its close ally.
“We continue to strive for lasting peace and security for the people of Israel, including through our commitment to the goal of two states living side-by-side in peace and security,” Obama said.
Born in British-mandate Palestine on February 26, 1928, to parents from Belarus, Sharon was just 17 when he joined the Haganah, the militia that fought in the 1948 war of independence and became the Israeli army.
He fought in all of Israel’s major wars before embarking on a political career in 1973.
Long considered a pariah for his personal but “indirect” responsibility for the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel’s Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, Sharon was elected premier in 2001.
Palestinians welcomed the news of Sharon’s death.
The Islamist movement Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, hailed Sharon’s death as a “historic moment” marking the “disappearance of a criminal whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood.”
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