Former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon, who led the Israeli army through many of the nation’s most heroic and controversial military battles, died Saturday at the age of 85 after being comatose for eight years. Here is a selection of reactions from world leaders and others for one of the most influential figures in the modern Middle East. “Arik was not a warmonger. When it was necessary to fight, he stood at the forefront of the divisions in the most sensitive and painful places, but he was a smart and realistic person and understood well that there is a limit in our ability to conduct wars.” — Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Mr. Sharon’s former deputy who took office after Mr. Sharon’s 2006 stroke. “On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the family of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and to the people of Israel on the loss of a leader who dedicated his life to the State of Israel … We join with the Israeli people in honoring his commitment to his country.” — President Barack Obama “He wanted to erase the Palestinian people from the map … He wanted to kill us, but at the end of the day, Sharon is dead and the Palestinian people are alive.” — Tawfik Tirawi, who served as Palestinian intelligence chief when Mr. Sharon was prime minister. “I will never forget meeting with this big bear of a man when he became Prime Minister as he sought to bend the course of history toward peace, even as it meant testing the patience of his own longtime supporters and the limits of his own, lifelong convictions in the process.” — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry “Ariel Sharon is one of the most significant figures in Israeli history and as Prime Minister he took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace, before he was so tragically incapacitated. Israel has today lost an important leader.” — British Prime Minister David Cameron German Chancellor Angela Merkel “is mourning with the Israeli people” for Mr. Sharon. “With his courageous decision to withdraw the Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip, he took a historic step on the path to a deal with the Palestinians and a two-state solution.” — Steffen Seibert, Ms. Merkel’s spokesman. “His passing is another grim reminder that years of virtual impunity for rights abuses have done nothing to bring Israeli-Palestinian peace any closer.” — Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch. “Sharon died years ago, today he is being taken to the courtroom.” — Egyptian actor and activist Nabil al-Halafawi on Twitter.
