Former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon dead, aged 85, after eight years in coma

Updated

Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli general and prime minister who was in a coma for eight years after he had a stroke at the height of his power, has died at the age of 85.

His death was confirmed on Saturday by the office of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu after initial reports were broadcast on Israeli army radio, citing a relative.

Mr Sharon was being treated at the Sheba Medical Centre outside Tel Aviv.

Ariel Sharon: Key dates 1928: Born February 27 in farming community near Tel Aviv.



1945: Joins the Haganah, the pre-state Jewish militia, which fought for Israel's independence in 1948.



1967: Leads tank invasions during the Six Day War.



1982: As defence minister, masterminds the invasion of Lebanon.



1983: Resigns after being found responsible for massacre at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.



1999: Takes over as head of the rightwing Likud party.



2001: Elected Israel's prime minister in landslide victory.



2005: Pulls all Israeli troops and settlers from Gaza under "disengagement plan", ending 38 years of occupation.



2005: Leaves Likud to create his own centrist Kadima party.



2006: Suffers a major stroke and lapses into a coma from which he never recovers.

"He's gone; he went when he decided to go," his son Gilad said at the hospital, in remarks carried by Channel 2 television.

Mr Sharon had been suffering kidney failure, and his doctors said earlier this month that his health had deteriorated.

The ex-general and right-wing leader, who served as Israel's prime minister from 2001 until 2006, had been in a coma since suffering a stroke in January 2006.

An MRI scan a year ago detected some brain activity when Mr Sharon was shown photographs of his family and also when asked to imagine his home.

But neurologists who carried out the study said he was effectively in a locked in state, unable to activate any muscles.

Once a hard-line defence chief, reviled in much of the Arab world, Mr Sharon made a dramatic political about-face with a unilateral pullout in 2005 from the Gaza Strip.

His illness came shortly after he quit the right-wing Likud party to found a centrist faction in the hope of advancing peace moves with the Palestinians.

Reports on Israeli army radio say a state funeral will be held on Monday in Jerusalem.

Foreign dignitaries will be invited to attend.

Mr Sharon will be buried on Monday afternoon next to his wife at his southern ranch after the Jerusalem ceremony.

Remembered fondly by former allies

Mr Sharon is viewed as a strong leader in Israel, but his enemies - especially the Palestinians - consider him a ruthless war criminal.

Mr Netanyahu said Saturday the Israeli people will "forever" cherish the former prime minister's memory.

"The State of Israel bows its head over the passing of former prime minister Ariel Sharon," he said in a statement.

"His memory will forever be held in the heart of the nation."

With Mr Sharon's death, president Shimon Peres is the last of the Jewish state's founders still active in public life.

"Arik was a valorous soldier and a bold statesman who contributed much to the security and building up of the State of Israel," he said, using Mr Sharon's nickname.

"Arik loved his people, and his people loved him.

"He knew no fear. He took difficult decisions and implemented them courageously."

US president Barack Obama paid tribute to Mr Sharon's "commitment".

He knew no fear. He took difficult decisions and implemented them courageously. Israeli president Shimon Peres

"We reaffirm our unshakable commitment to Israel's security and our appreciation for the enduring friendship between our two countries," he said.

"As Israel says goodbye to prime minister Sharon, we join with the Israeli people in honouring his commitment to his country."

British prime minister David Cameron called Mr Sharon "one of the most significant figures in Israeli history", saying he "took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace".

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon hailed Mr Sharon as a "hero" to Israelis, who would leave behind a "legacy of pragmatism" in the Middle East.

"Prime minister Sharon will be remembered for his political courage and determination to carry through with the painful and historic decision to withdraw Israeli settlers and troops from the Gaza Strip," Mr Ban said.

Palestinians celebrate death of 'tyrant'

There was no immediate comment on the death from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, with whom Mr Sharon's Likud party successor, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been holding US-sponsored peace talks.

But in Gaza, the Hamas Islamists whose political fortunes rose with the Israeli withdrawal savoured Mr Sharon's demise.

Many Palestinians blame Sharon for the massacre of between 800 and 2,000 people at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps on the outskirts of Beirut in 1982 by Christian militiamen allied with Israel.

Israeli troops did not intervene during the bloodshed, which went down as one of the worst atrocities of Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

A 1983 Israeli inquiry found Sharon bore "personal responsibility" for not preventing the slaughter, leading to him to resign as defence minister.

Palestinians in Gaza were handing out sweets to passersby and motorists in celebration of Mr Sharon's passing.

I think the consensus among Palestinians is that Sharon needed to be treated as a war criminal more than anything else. Former Palestinian Authority minister Ghassan Khatib

"We have become more confident in victory with the departure of this tyrant," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zurhi.

"Our people today feel extreme happiness at the death and departure of this criminal whose hands were smeared with the blood of our people and the blood of our leaders here and in exile."

A former minister in the Palestinian Authority, Ghassan Khatib, says Palestinians will never forgive Mr Sharon.

"We all only have negative and bad memories of Sharon," he said.

"I think the consensus among Palestinians is that Sharon needed to be treated as a war criminal more than anything else."

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti says Mr Sharon led Israel on a path of war against Palestinians.

"Nobody should celebrate any death, but unfortunately I have to say that Mr Sharon left no good memories with Palestinians," he said.

"Unfortunately, he had a path of war and aggression and a great failure in making peace with the Palestinian people."

ABC/wires

Topics: death, world-politics, israel

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