- Former army general Sharon buried next to his late wife Lily in a military ceremony
- Sharon's coffin was displayed in a plaza in front of the Knesset - streams of visitors passed by to snap photos
- Funeral service attended by dignitaries from around the world, including Joe Biden and Tony Blair
Former army general Sharon has been laid to rest next to his late second wife Lily in a plot at his beloved desert ranch in the Negev Desert.
Dignitaries from around the world - including former British prime Minister Tony Blair, and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden - paid their respects this morning at a special memorial at the Knesset for Sharon, who died two days ago at 85.
Then after the ceremony ended, the closed coffin, draped in a blue and white Israeli flag, was placed in a military vehicle and driven in a police-escorted convoy toward Sharon's ranch in southern Israel.
Crowds stood along the roadside and on bridges, snapping pictures and getting a final glimpse of the coffin as the procession of vehicles left Jerusalem and snaked down the highway outside the city's picturesque hills.
An Israeli military vehicle carries Sharon's coffin. One of Israel's greatest and most divisive figures, Sharon rose through the ranks of the military, moving into politics and overcoming scandal and controversy to become prime minister at the time of his stroke
Israeli army officers sit at the back of a military jeep with the flag draped coffin of Sharon after a memorial ceremony at the Knesset. Israel paid homage to Sharon at the first of two funeral services to be held on Monday for a man hailed as a war hero at home but seen by many in the Arab world as a war criminal
The convoy with the body of the former Prime minister arrives at the grave site where his second wife Lily is buried at the family ranch Havat Shikmin, near the Israeli city of Sderot in the southern Negev desert
People watch as the convoy makes its way to the farm, come six miles away from the Gaza strip
Female Israeli soldiers carry wreaths of flowers for the burial ceremony of Sharon. Israel's army says two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip just hours ahead of the controversial leader's funeral, but they did not appear to have landed in Israel
People line the passage to the farm as Israel said its last farewell to the late Sharon on Monday with a state ceremony outside the parliament building before his flag-draped coffin was taken on a cross-country procession to its final resting place
Crowds stood along the roadside and on bridges, snapping pictures and getting a final glimpse of the coffin as the procession of vehicles left Jerusalem and snaked down the highway outside the city's picturesque hills
The convoy made a brief stop at Latrun, the site of a bloody battle where Sharon was wounded during Israel's war of independence in 1948, for a brief military ceremony before continuing south. His coffin was lowered into the ground in a military funeral at the family farm in southern Israel
A picture of the final resting place of former Israeli prime minister has been released, ahead of his military funeral today
At Sharon's graveside, his son Gilad remembered his father for overcoming the odds, whether it was battling a Palestinian uprising after becoming prime minister in 2001 or clinging to life in his final days even after his kidneys had stopped functioning
Israelis watch the funeral on big screens as the cortege passes by. Former PM Ariel Sharon died on Saturday aged 85 in Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv and had been in a coma since January 4, 2006
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, US Vice President Joe Biden, Israeli President Shimon Peres, former British prime minister Tony Blair, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and other guests attending the Funeral ceremony of the late former prime minister
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (right)
shakes hands with Omri Sharon, the older son of the former Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon and right, U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden, wearing sunglasses, stands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, his wife Sarah, and Mideast Envoy Blair
Tony Blair heralded Ariel Sharon as 'a giant of this land' at the state memorial service. He said Sharon had the 'idea that the Jewish people, so often victims of injustice and persecution, should have a state where they could be independent and free'
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (standing) shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during a memorial ceremony for the former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem on Monday
Israel's President Shimon Peres (centre) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (centre, back) greet family members of the former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon at the start of a memorial ceremony, Israel beefed up security for former Sharon's funeral near the Gaza border on Monday and warned the enclave's Palestinian rulers not to allow rocket fire during the ceremony
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks near the flag draped coffin of Sharon. 'The security of his people was always Arik's unwavering mission - a non-breakable commitment to the future of Jews, whether 30 years or 300 years from now,' Biden said, using Sharon's nickname
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, noting he had not always seen eye-to-eye with Sharon on policy matters, hailed the former leader's commitment to Israel's security.
'Arik understood that in matters of our existence and security, we must stand firm,' Netanyahu said.
'Israel will continue to fight terror. Israel will continue to strive for peace, while protecting our security. Israel will act in every way to deny Iran the capability of arming itself with nuclear weapons'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking during a memorial at the Knesset for Sharon, who died two days ago at 85
The coffin of Sharon is carried after a memorial ceremony outside the Knesset
His coffin was lowered into the ground in a military funeral at the family farm in southern Israel.
At Sharon's graveside, his son Gilad remembered his father for overcoming the odds, whether it was battling a Palestinian uprising after becoming prime minister in 2001 or clinging to life in his final days even after his kidneys had stopped functioning.
'Again and again you turned the impossible to reality. That's how legends are made.
That's how an ethos of a nation is created,' he said.
Israel's army says two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip just hours ahead of the controversial leader's funeral, but they did not appear to have landed in Israel.
The location in southern Israel where the former Israeli Prime Minister is to be buried later is within range of rockets from the Palestinian territory and rockets in the past have hit the area.
Dignitaries from around the world - including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden - paid their respects this morning at a special memorial at the Knesset for Sharon, who died two days ago at 85
In addition to Biden and Blair, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, and foreign ministers of Australia and Germany were among those in attendance at Monday's ceremony. Even Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, sent a low-level diplomat, its embassy said
Biden referred simply to his 'mistakes', saying: 'History will judge that he also lived in complex times, in a very complex neighbourhood.'
'The security of his people was always Arik's unwavering mission - a non-breakable commitment to the future of Jews, whether 30 years or 300 years from now,' Biden added, using Sharon's nickname.
'We are accompanying to his final resting place today, a soldier, an exceptional soldier, a commander who knew how to win,' said Israeli President Shimon Peres.
After the memorial service at parliament, Sharon's body will be driven from Jerusalem to his family farm 10 km (six miles) from Gaza, where he will be buried later in the day at the Sycamore Ranch, where he raised sheep and cows.
The procession will stop for a military ceremony with generals at Latrun, where Sharon almost died after being shot in the abdomen in Israel’s War of Independence, in 1948.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, noting he had not always seen eye-to-eye with Sharon on policy matters - particularly the Gaza withdrawl - hailed the former leader's commitment to Israel's security.
'Arik understood that in matters of our existence and security, we must stand firm. We are sticking to these principles,' Netanyahu said.
Sharon's coffin was displayed in a plaza in front of the Knesset, where a stream of visitors passed by to snap photos and say farewell
Sharon was known for his exploits on the battlefield, masterminding Israel's invasion of Lebanon, building Jewish settlements on war-won land and then, late in life, destroying some that he deemed no longer useful
Israeli army generals salute the coffin of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the Knesset plaza, in Jerusalem
Members of the Knesset guard carry the coffin of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Sharon died on Saturday aged 85, after eight years in a coma caused by a stroke
Hundreds of Israelis lined up outside the country's parliament building on Sunday to pay their last respects to the late former prime minister.
Sharon's coffin was earlier displayed in a plaza in front of the Knesset, where a stream of visitors passed by to snap photos and say farewell.
Uri Rottman, a mourner who said he once served in the military with Sharon, said: 'My heart is broken. Israel lost the King of David. There is no other word to describe this man, they don't make people like this anymore.'
Another former army comrade, Eliav Aviram, said: 'I feel committed to share the very last moment before they're going to bury him.'
Sharon was a farmer-turned-soldier, a soldier-turned-politician, a politician-turned-statesman - a leader known for his exploits on the battlefield, masterminding Israel's invasion of Lebanon, building Jewish settlements on war-won land and then, late in life, destroying some that he deemed no longer useful.
To his supporters, he was a war hero. To his critics, he was a war criminal. Israeli authorities closed off streets around the parliament in anticipation of huge crowds on Sunday.
Visitors were asked to park at lots in and around the city and were brought to the site by special buses. President Shimon Peres and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who succeeded Sharon after the 2006 stroke, were among the visitors.
Afterward Sharon's body will be taken by military convey for burial at his ranch in southern Israel.
News of Sharon dominated Israeli newspapers and broadcast reports, and Israel's three main TV stations all broadcast live from the memorial. Radio stations were filled with interviews with former officials and military men who shared stories of Sharon's exploits.
An Israeli woman mourns for former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as he lies-in-state on the plaza of the Knesset
Final goodbye: An Israeli man waits in the crowd to pay his respects
In memory: Israelis light candles next to the coffin of late former leader Ariel Sharon
President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, lays a wreath at former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coffin
Knesset guards carry the flag draped coffin of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon onto the plaza of the Knesset
A stream of visitors passed by to snap photos and say farewell to Ariel Sharon
A convoy en route for Jerusalem escorts the coffin of former prime minister Ariel Sharon near the Israeli city of Rishon Letzion
Israelis are paying their respects to Ariel Sharon, whose controversial life inspired admiration and provoked revulsion and whose death drew emotional reactions even after eight years in a coma
Workers prepare the grave of late former PM Ariel Sharon next to his wife Lili Sharon's grave in Havat Hashikmim, Israel
A memorial service will be held tomorrow followed by a funeral near Sycamore Farm, the former prime minister's residence
A police officer directs his police dog to search the gravesite for late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon outside his ranch in Havat Shikmim, southern Israel
Throughout his life, he was at the center of the most contentious episodes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, starting as a young soldier fighting in the 1948 war over Israel's creation.
In the 1950s, he led a commando unit that carried out reprisals for Arab attacks. In 1953, after the slaying of an Israeli woman and her two children, Sharon's troops blew up more than 40 houses in Qibya, a West Bank village then ruled by Jordan, killing 69 Arabs, most or all of them civilians.
Residents in Qibya on Sunday remembered the village's darkest hour. Qibya resident Hamed Ghethan was just four years old when the raid took place. He said he could remember older residents placing their hands over the children's mouths so they wouldn't make a sound.
'Sharon's name reminds me of... martyrs from my village,' said Ghethan, 65, as he surveyed the ruins of buildings destroyed in the military action.
As one of Israel's most famous generals, he was known for bold tactics and an occasional refusal to obey orders.
Former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon gestures during a visit to an army lookout in Tavlan in the Jordan valley in 2001
DAVID CAMERON PAYS TRIBUTE TO 'IMPORTANT LEADER'
British Prime Minister David Cameron walks from 10 Downing Street in London, to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament
'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,' Mr Cameron said.
'Israel has today lost an important leader.'
The veteran soldier, nicknamed the 'bulldozer', fought in the series of wars that forged the state of Israel before entering politics in 1973.
Critics held him responsible for the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel's Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut refugee camps.
However, others pointed to his efforts to secure a stable peace as prime minister between 2001 and 2006, including unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Sharon was still in office when he suffered his stroke, and never regained consciousness.
Complications after surgery at the beginning of this month had seen a sharp deterioration in his condition.
Sharon became a minister in Menachem Begin's government in the late 1970s, and voted against the historic 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.
But when it fell to Sharon to remove Jewish settlements from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, he obediently ordered protesting settlers to be dragged away and their homes bulldozed to rubble.
As defense minister in 1982, Sharon launched the invasion of Lebanon, where he became complicit in one of bloodiest incidents of the Lebanese war, when Israeli-allied forces systematically slaughtered hundreds of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps in September 1982.
An Israeli judicial inquiry found Sharon indirectly responsible for the killings, and he was forced to step down as defense minister. Yet over the years, he gradually rehabilitated himself by holding a number of Cabinet posts.
As opposition leader in September 2000, Sharon demonstratively visited a contested Jewish-Muslim holy site in Jerusalem, setting off Palestinian protests that quickly lurched into an armed uprising that ultimately killed hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis.
Several months later, he was elected prime minister. While Sharon ordered a tough crackdown on the Palestinian uprising, he made a dramatic about-face in 2003 when he announced his plans for a unilateral withdrawal from occupied lands.
In 2005, he directed a unilateral pullout of Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip, ending a 38-year occupation.
He later bolted from his hard-line Likud Party and established the centrist Kadima Party, with a platform promoting further territorial concessions and support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
It seemed he was on his way to an easy re-election when he suffered the stroke in January 2006.
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