Ariel Sharon, former Israeli PM, dies at 85

In this Oct. 21, 1998 file photo, Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, right, stands near but does not look at, or shake hands with, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at Wye Plantation, Md. Before becoming a candidate, Sharon proudly boasted he had never shaken hands with Arafat, and called the Palestinian leader a "murderer and a liar" in an interview with New Yorker magazine. Sharon, the hard-charging Israeli general and prime minister who was admired and hated for his battlefield exploits and ambitions to reshape the Middle East, died Saturday. The 85-year-old Sharon had been in a coma since a debilitating stroke eight years ago. - photo by Associated Press

Mideast Israel Obit A Werm — In this Oct. 21, 1998 file photo, Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, right, stands near but does not look at, or shake hands with, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at Wye Plantation, Md. Before becoming a candidate, Sharon proudly boasted he had never shaken hands with Arafat, and called the Palestinian leader a "murderer and a liar" in an interview with New Yorker magazine. Sharon, the hard-charging Israeli general and prime minister who was admired and hated for his battlefield exploits and ambitions to reshape the Middle East, died Saturday. The 85-year-old Sharon had been in a coma since a debilitating stroke eight years ago. - photo by Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Ariel Sharon, the hard-charging Israeli general and prime minister who was admired and hated for his battlefield exploits and ambitions to reshape the Middle East, died Saturday, eight years after a stroke left him in a coma from which he never awoke. He was 85. As one of Israel's most famous soldiers, Sharon was known for bold tactics and an occasional refusal to obey orders.

Associated Press

Associated Press