Ariel Sharon, the Israeli warrior and former prime minister as famous
for his ferocity in battling Arabs as for his turnaround decision to
evacuate settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip, died yesterday. He was 85. Sharon, who had been in coma since suffering a stroke in January 2006, died from multiple organ failure at Chaim Sheba Medical Center, near Tel Aviv. His casket, draped with the country’s blue-and-white flag, was mounted today on a black bier in the courtyard of the parliament in Jerusalem so Israelis could pay respects. He is to be buried tomorrow in a military ceremony at his ranch in the country’s southern Negev desert, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in an e-mailed statement.
Admired as a military strategist while despised by Arab foes, the man nicknamed “the bulldozer” in the media left a legacy of controversy on and off battlefields from the early days of the nation’s existence.
Sharon “was first and foremost a warrior and a commander, among the Jewish people’s greatest generals in the current era and throughout its history,” Netanyahu said today at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, according to a statement from his office. “He was tied to the land; he knew that it had to be defended. He understood that above everything, our revival is our ability to defend ourselves by ourselves.”
U.S. Tribute
U.S. President Barack Obama extended his condolences to Sharon’s family and the country, calling the former prime minister a “leader who dedicated his life to the State of Israel.”“We reaffirm our unshakable commitment to Israel’s security and our appreciation for the enduring friendship between our two countries,” Obama said in a statement.
Vice President Joe Biden, in a statement, said he would lead the U.S. delegation to Sharon’s memorial service.
Sharon was distrusted for defying commanders and criticized for his deadly raids against militants. A government panel found he bore indirect responsibility for the 1982 slaughter of hundreds of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Israeli voters, yearning for a tough response to a Palestinian uprising, elected Sharon, who was popularly called Arik, prime minister by a landslide in 2001. Faced with a succession of suicide bombings, he authorized the killing of Palestinian militants and the reoccupation of West Bank cities. He was re-elected two years later.
Palestinians Denounce
“The Palestinian people remember today what this former prime minister did in battles and war to uproot us from our land, in particular what took place in Lebanon,” Wasel Abu Yousef, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, said by phone.Sharon, who parlayed cabinet positions to send tens of thousands of Jews to live on land the Palestinians want for a state, stunned Israelis by announcing his plan to evacuate Gaza after almost four decades. Withdrawal from four small West Bank settlements was also part of the proposal.
“The withdrawal from Gaza wasn’t to buy peace, but to resolve a security situation,” said Dov Weissglas, Sharon’s chief of staff. “Someone had to say the buck stops here. This was Sharon.”
In 2005, he ordered soldiers and 8,500 settlers to unilaterally leave the Gaza Strip and handed over the territory to Palestinian rule.
Gaza Pullout
The decision to leave Gaza won Sharon international accolades while causing an uproar among his power base. U.S. President George W. Bush hailed him at the time as “a man of peace” for being willing to make what Sharon called “painful concessions” to the Palestinians.Bush, in a statement yesterday, said he was “honored to know this man of courage and call him friend. He was a warrior for the ages and a partner in seeking security for the Holy Land and a better, peaceful Middle East.”
“Ariel Sharon is one of the most significant figures in Israeli history and as Prime Minister he took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace, before he was so tragically incapacitated,” U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.
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