Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon was an Israeli military officer and politician who served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006. His career was shaped by his role in major wars, the 1982 Lebanon War, and the 2005 Gaza disengagement.

David Ben-Gurion: The Zionist leader who became Israel’s first prime minister and defense minister. As defense minister, he helped establish the military framework in which Sharon began his career.
Qibya massacre: An Israeli reprisal raid in 1953 that killed dozens of Palestinian villagers in the West Bank village of Qibya. Sharon commanded the unit responsible for the raid, an early episode that drew international condemnation.
Israeli settlement: A civilian community established by Israel beyond the 1949 armistice lines, principally in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Sharon promoted settlement construction for decades before ordering evacuations from Gaza and northern Samaria.
Oslo Accords: Agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that established limited Palestinian self-government beginning in 1993. Sharon opposed the concessions and negotiations embodied in the Oslo process.
Menachem Begin: An Israeli prime minister who led the government during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Begin appointed Sharon defense minister and authorized the Lebanon campaign they jointly launched.
Six-Day War: The 1967 war in which Israel fought Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and captured the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Sinai, and Golan Heights. Sharon commanded an armored division in the war and gained prominence for its operations in Sinai.
Second Intifada: A Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule that began in 2000 and lasted through the mid-2000s. Sharon’s 2000 visit to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif preceded the uprising, though its causes remain disputed.
Two-state solution: A proposed resolution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through independent Israeli and Palestinian states. Sharon’s territorial withdrawals stopped short of endorsing a negotiated Palestinian state.
Yitzhak Rabin: An Israeli military officer and politician who served twice as prime minister and pursued negotiations with the Palestinians. Rabin’s negotiated approach contrasted with Sharon’s long opposition to territorial concessions.
Yom Kippur War: The 1973 war in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel. Sharon’s crossing of the Suez Canal became one of the war’s defining Israeli operations.

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