Former Israeli Prime Minister Sharon dead at 85
NEW YORK. January 11. KAZINFORM Ariel Sharon, whose half century as a military and political leader in Israel was marked with victories and controversies, died Saturday after eight years in a coma, Israeli Army Radio reported. Sharon was 85.
Sharon died at Sheba Medical Center in the Tel Aviv suburb of Tel Hashomer. The Israeli statesman was a national war hero to many Israelis for his leadership, both in uniform or as a civilian, during every Israeli war. Many in the Arab world called Sharon "the Butcher of Beirut" after he oversaw Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon while serving as defense minister, CNN reports. He was a major figure in many defining events in the Middle East for decades, including his decision to turn over Gaza and parts of the West Bank to Palestinian control. Throughout, he was called a "The Bulldozer," a fearless leader who got things done. Ariel Sharon: Five things to know The reaction in his own right-wing Likud Party to his order to the military to drag some Israeli settlers from their homes in Gaza led Sharon in November 2005 to form the political party Kadima, Hebrew for "Forward." He was in his fifth year as prime minister when he suffered a massive stroke in January 2006, which left him comatose. Ehud Olmert, who became interim prime minister after Sharon's stroke, assumed the role of prime minister after leading the Kadima Party to an election victory in March 2006. Sharon's career was closely tied to Israel's relationship with Lebanon. During the Lebanon war in 1982, Sharon, a former army general then serving as Israeli defense minister, was held indirectly responsible by an Israeli inquiry in 1983 for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. He was forced to resign. Sharon, who lived on a ranch in the Negev Desert, became prime minister on March 7, 2001. He was the man who encouraged Israelis to establish settlements on occupied Palestinian land, but he also was the leader who pushed for Israel's historic 2005 withdrawal from 25 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, which was turned over to Palestinian rule for the first time in 38 years. Sharon formed the centrist Kadima in an effort to build political support for his controversial plan to turn over Gaza and parts of the West Bank to Palestinian control. In grappling with the decades-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, Sharon said in 2001, "I can talk and look in the eyes of the citizens of Israel and convince them to make painful compromises." For full version go to