Iranian MP: World not to forget Sharon’s crimes

The world will never forget the crimes committed by former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon against the Palestinians, an Iranian lawmaker said. “The crimes that Ariel Sharon committed against the defenseless people of Palestine will never be wiped off the world’s public opinion and he will always be despised in history,” said Hossein Sheikholeslam on Saturday, press tv reported. He pointed to Sharon’s massacres of civilians in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan and described him as one of the most criminal leaders in the Israeli regime. The former Israeli prime minister died on Saturday at the age of 85 at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. On January 4, 2006, Sharon suffered a stroke and went into a coma, from which he never recovered. On Saturday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed regret that Sharon did not face justice for his role in numerous crimes, including the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The HRW also slammed Sharon’s role in the “assassination” of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat back in 2004. Sharon led Israel to a war with Lebanon in 1982 and was responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps outside the Lebanese capital of Beirut after his forces allowed allied Lebanese militias into the camps. As the Israeli minister of military affairs, Sharon earned the title “Butcher of Beirut” over the massacre. Many Palestinians celebrated the death of the former Israeli premier in different locations in Lebanon and Palestine. Palestinian officials Jibril Rajoub of the Fatah party and Salah el-Bardaweel, a spokesman for Hamas, also called Sharon a criminal.