TEL AVIV: Former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon died in hospital
near Tel Aviv Saturday, aged 85, after eight years in a coma, drawing
tributes from Israeli leaders but contempt from Palestinians.
“The Sheba Medical Centre in Tel HaShomer announces with sorrow the
passing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon that was determined
approximately an hour ago,” senior doctor Professor Shlomo Noy told a
news conference at 1300 GMT.
Sharon has 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 serious kidney problems after surgery.
“He's gone; he went when he decided to go,” his son Gilad told reporters at the hospital, in remarks on Channel 2 television.
Sharon was one of Israel’s most skilled but controversial political
and military leaders, who was hailed by many Israelis as a statesman
whose ruthless methods earned him the moniker “The Bulldozer.”
As news of his death emerged, tributes poured in from senior Israeli
officials, but the Palestinians were quick to denounce him as a
“criminal” who had escaped international justice.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 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 in a statement, expressing “deep sorrow”
over the news. “His memory will forever be held in the heart of the
nation.”
A veteran soldier, Sharon fought in all of Israel's major wars before
embarking on a turbulent political career in 1973 that ended
dramatically when he suffered the stroke from which he never recovered.
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.
The Palestinians were quick to welcome news of his death, with a
senior official labelling him a criminal and accusing him of being
responsible for the mysterious death in 2004 of the veteran Palestinian
leader, Yasser Arafat.
“Sharon was a criminal, responsible for the assassination of Arafat,
and we would have hoped to see him appear before the International
Criminal Court as a war criminal,” said Jibril Rajub, a senior official
of the Fatah party.
The Hamas movement, 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.”
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, also
regretted that Sharon never faced justice, particularly over his role in
the Beirut camp killings.
“It's a shame that Sharon has gone to his grave without facing
justice for his role in Sabra and Shatila and other abuses,” she said in
a statement.
“His passing is another grim reminder that years of virtual impunity
for rights abuses have done nothing to bring Israeli-Palestinian peace
any closer. For the thousands of victims of abuses, Sharon's passing
without facing justice magnifies their tragedy.”
One of the last members of the generation that founded the Jewish
state 1948, he leaves a complex legacy which saw him push through a
policy of separation from the Palestinians, orchestrate Israel's
unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 and begin building the sprawling
West Bank barrier in 2002.
Born in British-mandate Palestine on February 26, 1928, to parents
from Belarus, Sharon was just 17 when he joined the Haganah, the
pre-state militia that fought in the 1948 war of independence and
eventually became the Israeli army.
Known throughout his military career for his boldness, Sharon also
had a stubborn sense of independence which saw him surprising friends
and foes alike.
Ever the maverick, Sharon later broke with his life-long rightwing
convictions to push through an unprecedentedly bold plan to withdraw
Israeli troops and 8,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip, earning him the
hatred of his former nationalist and settler allies.
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