Related Articles
Here’s a look at the rise and fall of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government:
—May 17, 1999: Ariel Sharon takes over leadership of Likud Party as Benjamin Netanyahu loses election to Labor Party moderate Ehud Barak.
—Sept. 28, 2000: Sharon visits Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims; clashes erupt and widen to broader conflict that buries peace talks and Barak government.
—Feb. 6, 2001: Sharon elected prime minister in landslide; he establishes broad coalition with Labor.
— May 21, 2001: Amid escalating violence, international commission submits report calling for end to violence, but it is never implemented.
— June 13, 2001: CIA director George Tenet negotiates cease-fire framework which is also never implemented.
—Feb. 18, 2002: Saudi initiative calls for Israeli pullout from all occupied territories in exchange for peace with entire Arab world; Sharon rejects it.
—March 29, 2002: After month in which 136 Israelis are killed in Palestinian attacks, most of them suicide bombings, Israel launches ambitious Operation Defensive Shield to rout Palestinian militant groups.
—June 19, 2002: After brief lull, new spate of suicide bombings prompts Israel’s Operation Determined Path, leading to takeover of most West Bank towns.
—June 24, 2002: Siding with Sharon, U.S. President George W. Bush calls on Palestinians to replace Yasser Arafat as leader.
—Oct. 30, 2002: Labor Party bolts Sharon’s coalition over budget allocation to Jewish settlements in occupied territories, leaving him with minority government.
—Nov. 5, 2002: Sharon dissolves parliament and calls early elections; Netanyahu agrees to join transition government as foreign minister.