Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the trailblazing warrior-statesman who transformed the region and was reviled by Arab foes over generations of conflict, died on Saturday at 85 eight years after suffering a massive stroke.
Sharon left major historical footprints on the Middle East through military invasion, Jewish settlement-building on occupied land the Palestinians seek for a state but also a shock, unilateral decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
He died at Sheba Medical Center, near Tel Aviv, where he has been in a coma since being hit by a stroke at the pinnacle of his power as prime minister in January 2006. Doctors there had reported a precipitous decline in his condition last week.
"Arik was a valorous soldier and a bold statesman who contributed much to the security and building up of the State of Israel," said President Shimon Peres, a former political ally of Sharon and, with the ex-premier's death, the last of the Jewish state's founders still in public life.
"Arik loved his people, and his people loved him," Peres said, using the nickname of the famously burly and blunt Sharon with a distinctive rolling prizefighter's gait. "He knew no fear and never feared pursuing a vision."
Officials said Sharon, who took power in 2001 soon after the start of a second Palestinian uprising that raged until 2005, would be buried in a state funeral to which foreign dignitaries would be invited.
Palestinians accused Sharon of sparking their "Intifada" with a provocative visit to the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. And he embittered many with the Israeli army's destructive sweep into self-rule areas of the West Bank in 2002 after a spate of Palestinian suicide bombings, and its siege of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his Ramallah compound.
But he surprised many by withdrawing soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 under a policy of "disengagement" from conflict and a pursuit of dialogue with the Palestinians.
The pullout, however, led to Gaza's takeover by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement who, unlike the West Bank-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, spurns peace and co-existence with Israel.
"We have become more confident in victory with the departure of this tyrant (Sharon)," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri. "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."
Palestinians in Gaza were handing out sweets to passersby and motorists in celebration of Sharon's passing.
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President Barack Obama said on Saturday he joined Israelis in honoring the late Ariel Sharon's commitment to Israel and he affirmed traditional U.S. support for Israel's security.
In a statement, Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, send their deepest condolences to Sharon's family and to Israelis on "the loss of 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 and our two peoples," said Obama.
He also said the United States continues to strive for lasting peace and security for Israelis "including through our commitment to the goal of two states living side-by-side in peace and security".
"As Israel says goodbye to Prime Minister Sharon, we join with the Israeli people in honoring his commitment to his country," Obama said.
In turn, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said he will lead the U.S. delegation to the memorial service for the late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Biden, in a statement, said he and his wife, Jill, were saddened to hear of Sharon's death.
"We send our condolences to his family and to his beloved nation of Israel. I look forward to leading the U.S. delegation to his memorial service, to pay respects to the man and to pay tribute to the unshakeable partnership between the United States and Israel," Biden said.
REUTERS