Israel war hero Ariel Sharon buried after military state funeral

Zee Media Bureau Jerusalem: Hailed as an indomitable commander, Ariel Sharon, Israel`s war hero, was buried on Monday at his family`s Sycamore ranch. Fondly called as “Arik``, Sharon was eulogised by foreign and Israeli dignitaries at a state memorial service held earlier, where most of the leaders avoided mentioning the controversial elements of Sharon`s life and emphasised on his achievements as Israel`s commander. Sharon, who dies at the age of 85, after eight years of being comatose, was buried in a state funeral ceremony on Monday afternoon at his family farm, near Sderot. US Vice President Joe Biden and former British PM Tony Blair laid wreaths at Sharon`s grave, just few kilometres off the border of Gaza Strip, from where Sharon had pulled out troops in 2005, just a year before he suffered a stroke that left him comatose for rest of his life.

Sharon`s both the son`s in their eulogies referred to their father in the second person, hailing him as the hero and defender of Israel. Honouring his father with a lovely eulogy, Sharon`s elder son, Omri Sharon said, "Look around, and see the nation gathering around this hilltop. Look and see how they thank you for guarding them. How they appreciate you protecting them and leading them. How they love you and miss you and bow a head. You were worthy of such praise". While his younger son reminisced his father’s last moments at the hospital, with music playing, family members chatting and his grandchildren running about, saying, "And only the hero of the play is lying motionless." "I hold your hand and stroke your face, the face of my dying father. Beloved father, you have come home." said Gilad Sharon. The funeral was held amid high security with Israeli Army on high alert for any rockets fired from Gaza. Israeli Army later said that two rockets were fired after the funeral near the Sycamore ranch in southern Israel by Palestinian militants. To which, Israeli Army retorted back with air strikes on two militant camps in Gaza. As the world said goodbye to Sharon – a controversial yet strong figure – the dichotomy became apparent about a man who was respected by Israelis as a war hero but abhorred by the Arabs as a war criminal who had engineered 1982 Lebanon invasion that ended up in massacre at two refugee camps. While eulogising him, world leaders just glossed over the polemic side of his personality with Tony Blair saying “Positions, parties, policies, he could leave considerable debris in his wake". "But he had the imagination to know that genuine peace, if attainable with honor and dignity both for Arabs and Israelis, is the anchor ultimately for Israel`s security." And just hinting at Sharon`s "mistakes", Biden said, "History will judge that he also lived in complex times, in a very complex neighbourhood." Using a string of warm adjectives for Sharon, ex-British PM described Sharon as "warm-hearted, humorous, charming and passionate" at the same time also calling him bold and "bold, unorthodox and unyielding".  Sharon was "a giant of this land" who will "take his place in the history of Israel with pride", said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "We are accompanying to his final resting place today a soldier, an exceptional soldier, a commander who knew how to win," Israeli President Shimon Peres said in Jerusalem, Sharon`s hefty coffin draped in Israel`s blue and white flag. Honouring the warrior-statesman, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called him as the greatest commander the country has ever had, adding his "unique contribution to the security of the state is engraved in our historical writings".  "Your memory will be part of this nation forever," he added.  US Vice President Joe Biden in his eulogy called Sharon an "indomitable bulldozer” saying that his main mission was the security of his people.  "He was indomitable...But like all historic leaders, all real leaders, he had a north star that guided him. A north star from which he never, in my observation, never deviated. His north star was the survival of the state of Israel and the Jewish people..," said Biden.