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Just for the record, let's remember the sort of man Ariel Sharon really was. Prior to 1948 he was a terrorist, attacking British forces in Palestine, and participating the murder of civilians and massacre of villages. A lot of Israeli politicians from that era were. But after 1948, he kept on killing. He ran a special army group, Unit 101, which targeted civilians and conducted operations outside Israel's borders. One of these operations, Qibya, resulted in the massacre of 69 women and children, and enough outrage inside and outside Israel that the unit was formally dissolved. In 1956, it appears that during the Suez Crisis, Sharon executed 40 captured Egyptian Prisoners of War, that's a war crime. In both 67 and 73, Sharon was active in theatres where Prisoners of War were murdered, though its not clear whether he was doing it then. He helped to pioneer the Settlement Policy, which created the settlements in the occupied territories, resulting in displacement and disenfranchisement, and often outright killing of Palestinians. He was the architect of the invasion of Lebanon, itself a war crime, and therefore of the 18 year occupation. The Siege of Beirut and the Sabra and Shattilla massacres, both war crimes, can be laid at his door. His deliberate actions triggered the second intifada, and then through use of assassinations and raids on refugee camps, he ensured that the pot would keep boiling every time it seemed to be settling down. Politically, he was well served by the fear and terror brought about by the second intifada. Although he demanded that the Palestinian Authority control its territory, he undercut their ability to do so at every turn. Finally, although this must be considered the least of his sins, it appears that his recent political career involved major bribery and influence peddling, a developing scandal cut short by his stroke.
Ariel Sharon spent a lifetime murdering and brutalizing women, children, civilians, noncombatants and the helpless. He committed war crimes. Every step he took was drenched with blood.
I am not attacking Israel. This is not about Israel. This is about a man who massacred villages and refugee camps, who committed atrocities.
He was a monster, and frankly, there are too many monsters in this world to spare him pity or compassion. Monsters are not an endangered species, not even in Israel or the middle east. If he believes in God, he will have to answer to that God for his actions.
