Ariel Sharon summary

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Ariel Sharon, orig. Ariel Scheinerman, (born Feb. 26, 1928, Kefar Malal, Palestine [now in Israel]—died January 11, 2014, Ramat Gan, Israel), Israeli soldier and politician. He received military training early in life and did intelligence and reconnaissance work after Israel achieved independence. During the Suez Crisis (1956) and again during the Six-Day War (1967), a unit under his command captured the strategic Mitla Pass. In the Yom Kippur War (1973), he led an Israeli counterattack. Appointed minister of agriculture in charge of settlements in 1977, he actively promoted Jewish settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As minister of defense (1981–83), he oversaw Israel’s invasion of Lebanon (see Lebanese civil war). An Israeli court of inquiry held Sharon indirectly responsible for the Sabra and Shatila massacres, and he was forced to resign in 1983. He held several further cabinet positions throughout the 1980s and ’90s and in 1999 became head of the Likud party. Elected prime minister in 2001, Sharon faced increased fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. In an effort to stem the violence, he initiated a plan to withdraw Israeli settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in 2005. In November 2005 Sharon quit Likud to form Kadima (“Forward”), a centrist party. In January 2006 he suffered a massive stroke, and power was transferred to an acting prime minister.

Likud Summary

Likud, right-wing Israeli political party. It was founded in September 1973 to challenge the Israel Labour Party, which had governed the country since its independence in 1948, and first came to power in 1977, with Menachem Begin as prime minister. For decades thereafter, Likud alternated in

prime minister Summary

Prime minister, the head of government in a country with a parliamentary or semipresidential political system. In such systems, the prime minister—literally the “first,” or most important, minister—must be able to command a continuous majority in the legislature (usually the lower house in a

army Summary

Army, a large organized armed force trained for war, especially on land. The term may be applied to a large unit organized for independent action, or it may be applied to a nation’s or ruler’s complete military organization for land warfare. Throughout history, the character and organization of

Six-Day War Summary

Six-Day War, brief war that took place June 5–10, 1967, and was the third of the Arab-Israeli wars. Israel’s decisive victory included the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and Golan Heights; the status of these territories subsequently became a major