Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon (1928–2014) was an Israeli military commander and statesman whose career shaped Israeli security policy for more than half a century. Born in Kfar Malal during the British Mandate, he fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and rose through the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), commanding Unit 101 in the 1950s and earning prominence for his crossing of the Suez Canal during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Sharon entered politics with the Likud party and served in multiple cabinet posts. As Defense Minister under Menachem Begin, he was the principal architect of Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. The Kahan Commission (1983) found him personally responsible for failing to prevent the Sabra and Shatila massacre carried out by Lebanese Phalangist militias, and recommended his removal from the Defense Ministry.

He returned to senior office over the following two decades, holding the housing, foreign affairs, and other portfolios, and became Likud leader in 1999. His visit to the Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif in September 2000 is widely cited as a trigger for the Second Intifada. He won the February 2001 prime ministerial election against Ehud Barak.

As Prime Minister, Sharon oversaw construction of the West Bank separation barrier and Operation Defensive Shield (2002). His most consequential decision was the 2005 unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements, evacuating roughly 8,000 Israeli settlers. Facing Likud opposition to the plan, he founded the centrist Kadima party in November 2005.

In January 2006 Sharon suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke and entered a coma; Ehud Olmert became acting and then prime minister. Sharon remained in a persistent vegetative state until his death on 11 January 2014. His legacy remains contested: admirers cite his battlefield record and willingness to dismantle settlements, while critics emphasize Sabra and Shatila and his expansion of settlement infrastructure.