Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon is the Prime Minister of Israel, (2001-present).He was born in 1928 in Kfar Malal (now in Israel?). For over 25 years he was a member of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), reaching the rank of Major-General before retiring. He was a member of the Knesset 1973-1974, and then from 1977-present. He served as Minister of Agriculture (1977-1981), then as Defense Minister (1981-1983). He resigned from his post as Defense Minister amid allegations surrounding a massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon by Lebanese factions allied with Israel (see also), and then served as a Minister without portfolio (1983-1984), Minister for Trade and Industry (1984-1990), and Minister for Housing Construction (1990-1992). Then he was Minister of National Infrastructure (1996-1998), and Foreign Minister (1998-1999). Upon the election of the Barak Labor government, he became leader of the Likud party, and was elected Prime Minister in February 2001.

During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, while Ariel Sharon was Defense Minister, a massacre of several thousand Palestinians occured in the Shabra and Shatila refugee camps in Israeli-occupied areas of Lebanon. The massacre was done by Lebanese factions aligned with Israel; Sharon had personally ordered the factions to enter the refugee camps, in order to flush out 'terrorists' which were allegedly hiding in the camps. Critics of Sharon claim that he knew that the Lebanese factions were likely to commit war crimes, and yet sent them in anyway. In the ensuing controversy, Ariel Sharon was forced to resign as Defense Minister. An Israeli government inquiry found that Ariel Sharon had some degree of responsibility for the massacre, but did not find that he was guilty of war crimes himself. Relatives of the victims of the massacre have begun proceedings in Belgium, seeking to have Ariel Sharon indicted on war crimes charges. (Belgium courts have the power, under both Belgium and international law, to try war crimes committed anywhere in the world.) Ariel Sharon has halted at least one official visit to Belgium (in 2001), fearing that he may be arrested if he entered the country.