Ariel Sharon died at the age of 85 on Saturday after eight years in a coma caused by a stroke. The former Prime Minister was one of the most influential and controversial figures in Israeli politics.
Sharon was Defense Minister during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, when thousands of Palestinians were killed in refugee camps by Lebanese militias as Israeli troops looked on. An inquiry in Israel found Sharon guilty of failing to stop the massacre that he knew was taking place. In 2001, Sharon became prime minister, he ordered a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, and a consolidation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Sharon suffered a stroke in January 2006 and has remained in a coma ever since. // A day after his death, Sharon’s body was placed in the plaza in front of the Knesset. Hundreds of Israelis lined up to pay their last respects. On Sunday evening, Sharon’s body was carried into parliament, where a state memorial is planned. Under Jewish law, funerals must be carried out as soon as possible. A funeral service will be held at Sharon’s ranch in southern Israel following the state memorial.