Shame that Ariel Sharon has gone to grave without facing justice: HRW

Zee Media Bureau

Jerusalem: Widely known for his penchant for wars, former Israeli PM and military hero Ariel Sharon, would have ordered withdrawal from most of occupied territories, had he been in office said former PM Ehud Olmert.

Speaking to a leading international news channel, Olmert said that Sharon would not have stopped at Gaza and would have pulled out of most of the occupied territories for the security of Israel.

Clarifying Sharon`s aggressive policy of occupying territories, Olmert said, "He thought that the territories were essential for the security of the state of Israel. When he found out that the security of the state of Israel perhaps could be served better by not being in all of those territories, he then drew the necessary, inevitable conclusions”.

Though known as “the bulldozer” who got things done and took controversial but decisive actions, Sharon also had a peacemaker streak in him as he ordered withdrawal of Israelis from Gaza strip in 2005.

Throughout his life, Sharon remained at the center of the most contentious episodes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, starting as a young soldier fighting in the 1948 war over Israel`s creation.

He fought in the Israeli-Arab wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973. And one of the main reasons, he is abhorred by the Arabs, was because he was the man who engineered the 1982 invasion of Lebanon as Israel`s defense minister.
An Israeli inquiry later blamed Sharon indirectly for the massacre at at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Sharon was the PM of Israel from 2001 to 2006, when he suffered a stroke that left him in coma for rest of his life. Sharon will be buried today at a site close to his family`s Sycamore Ranch in the southern Negev desert next to his second wife Lily Sharon, who died of cancer 14 years ago. 
Sharon`s military funeral will be held after a memorial service at the Knesset which will be attended by dignitaries including US Vice President Joe Biden.

Though Israelis mourned his death,, filing past his body which was lying in state yesterday at Knesset, Palestinians cheered his demise, distributing sweets.
Sharon is referred to as the “butcher” by the Arabs for his involvement in 1982 Lebanese war and the subsequent bloodshed of refugees at Sabra and Chatilla camps.
The international rights body Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed regret that Sharon didn`t have to face the jurisdiction for his role in Lebanese war.

"It`s a shame that Sharon has gone to his grave without facing justice for his role in Sabra and Chatilla and other abuses," said HRW in a statement.