Israel cries for Sharon's death

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon died today after eight years of permanent vegetative state for a stroke suffered on 4 January 2006. Serving the country as a soldier, only in the first years of the 70s' he started his political career. As a soldier, Sharon took part at the 1948 war of independence war, the 1956 Suez war, the six-day war and the Yom Kippur war; as a politician he served as a minister of Defense when occurred the Sabra and Shatila massacre: during the 1982 Lebanon war, between 800 and 3,500 Palestinian civilians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps were killed by the Phalanges—Lebanese Maronite Christian militias. The militiamen entered the Palestinian camps while Israeli forces surrounded the camps, blocking camp exits and providing logistical support. It was not proven Sharon's direct responsibility, but he had to resign and his image was compromised. Above we can see how Sharon has been considered by many cartoonists around the world, considering also his strong internal policy on Palestinian territories. For three decades - in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s - Sharon championed construction of Israeli settlements both in the West Bank and in Gaza strip. «Everything we take now will stay ours, everything we don't grab will go to them», explained at that time. Sharon is also considered by Palestinians to be responsible of their former leader Yasser Arafat, dead in 2004 in unclear circumstances when Sharon was acting head of the Israeli government. Israel today cries for Sharon, while Palestinians express regret he was not brought to justice before he died.