Body of Israel's Ariel Sharon lies in state

( Agencies ) Updated: 2014-01-12 22:17:33

Israeli army officers salute in front of the flag draped coffin of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon as he lies in state at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem January 12, 2014. Sharon, the trailblazing warrior-statesman who stunned Arab foes with his dramatic turnarounds, died on Saturday aged 85, after eight years in a coma caused by a stroke. [Photo/Agencies]

Israeli authorities closed off streets around the parliament in anticipation of huge crowds 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, was among the visitors. Olmert crossed past a roped-off area to stand silently next to the flag-draped coffin.

A state memorial is planned Monday at the parliament building. In addition to Biden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and others were expected.

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.

Sharon's career stretched across much of Israel's 65-year existence, and his life was closely intertwined with the country's history.

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.

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