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Jerusalem – The body of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon lay in state yesterday in front of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, after his body was driven under police escort to Jerusalem. President Shimon Peres placed a wreath near the coffin, which was wrapped in the Israeli national flag.
The body was driven to the Knesset from an army base near the hospital outside Tel Aviv where Sharon died on Saturday.
“The public will be able to pay its respects until 18:00,” the prime minister’s office said.
A state memorial is planned for today with the participation of Israeli and world leaders, the prime minister’s office said.
US Vice-President Joe Biden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and others will attend, it added.
Afterwards Sharon’s body will be taken by military convoy for burial at his ranch.
One of Israel’s most controversial figures, Sharon had been in a coma for eight years after a stroke incapacitated him at the peak of his political power.
Celebrated as a military hero by some, recognised as a pragmatic politician by others and despised as a bloodthirsty criminal by his foes, Sharon was a polarising figure at home and abroad. – AP
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