JERUSALEM (EJP)—Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, one of his nation’s most iconic leaders for a half-century — on and off the battlefield — died Saturday at the age of 85 at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, of complications from a stroke eight years ago.
His death came days after his condition deteriorated dramatically.
Sharon would have turned 86 next month. His family gathered at the hospital to be with him in his final moments. His sons Omri and and Gilad had been by his side since his condition deteriorated on January 1.
Few individuals have had more of an impact on the history of the state of Israel than ‘’Ariek’’ Sharon, who was Prime Minister until his incapacitation in January 2006.
Following is a time line about Sharon :
26 February 1928: Ariel Sharon born in Kfar Malal, an agricultural community on the coastal plain, in British Mandate Palestine.
1948: During the War of Independence, Sharon commands a platoon in the Alexandroni Brigade of the IDF. He suffers severe injuries during one of the battles for Latrun, where his forces are decimated, leaving a major impact on Sharon.
August 1953: Sharon commands Unit 101, an IDF special forces unit responsible for reprisal raids against armed Palestinian fedayeen launching attacks on Israeli civilians. He leads the controversial Qibya raid, in which civilians are killed.
November 1956: As a commander of the 202nd Paratroopers Brigade, Sharon has a major role in the Sinai War with Egypt. However, his decision to advance into the Mitla pass, contrary to his orders, is criticised for causing unnecessary losses.
June 1967: During the Six Day War, Sharon, now commander of an armoured division, makes major achievements during the Battle of Abu-Agelia, in an advance against Egyptian forces in the Sinai. His tactical awareness earns him domestic and international praise.
October 1973: Sharon plays a critical role in the IDF crossing of the Suez Canal during Israel’s successful counter-attack against Egypt. This cements his reputation as a brilliant field commander, albeit one who clashes frequently with his superiors.
December 1973: Ariel Sharon is instrumental in setting up the Likud Party, led by Menachem Begin, a merger of several right and centre parties. He is elected to the Knesset, but resigns a year later and serves as a security advisor to Yitzhak Rabin (1975) during Rabin’s first term as Prime Minister.
May 1977: Sharon re-enters the Knesset, serves as minister for agriculture in the government of Menachem Begin. He becomes a key supporter of the policy of expanding settlements throughout the West Bank.
August 1981: Becomes minister of defence.
June 1982: Israeli forces invade Southern Lebanon in “Operation Peace for Galilee”, an operation designed by Sharon to expel PLO forces from Lebanon, used by the PLO as a base to attack Israel.
February 1983: The Kahan Commission, set up by the Israeli government, finds Sharon personally responsible for failing to prevent a massacre – by Phalangist Christian militias allied to Israel – of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Beirut. Following mass public demonstrations in Israel, Sharon resigns as defence minister and becomes minister without portfolio.
1983-1999: Sharon holds various ministries including trade and industry (1984-1990), housing construction (1990-1992), national infrastructure (1996-1998) and foreign ministry (1998-1999).
May 1999: After Likud loses the 1999 election, Sharon succeeds Benjamin Netanyahu as party leader.
September 2000: Sharon visits the Temple Mount, an act seen as provocative by the Palestinians. Despite being seen as a trigger point for the Second Intifada, later the US Mitchell Committee ruled that it did not cause the conflict.
March 2001: Sharon is elected Prime Minister, defeating Ehud Barak in a landslide.
March 2002: Following an intense wave of Palestinian terror attacks Sharon authorises Operation Defensive Shield, targeting Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank and Gaza.
June 2002: Sharon’s government orders the start of construction of the West Bank security barrier to prevent Palestinian terrorists reaching Israeli population centres.
June 2003: Ariel Sharon accepts the principles of President Bush’s ‘Roadmap for Peace’, thereby accepting the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
December 2003: Ariel Sharon announces at the Herzliya Conference his Disengagement Plan to remove some Israeli settlements located in Palestinian population areas which will not stay part of Israel in a final status agreement.
September 2005: Despite huge opposition from his own party, Sharon oversees the complete withdrawal of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the northern West Bank.
November 2005: Sharon leaves the Likud to establish the centrist Kadima party with Shimon Peres, Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and others, in a bid to continue with the process of disengagement in the West Bank. He calls an election which he is expected to win by a landslide.
4 January 2006: Sharon suffers a major stroke and falls into a coma; he is later replaced as leader of Kadima by Ehud Olmert.