Israel has been paying homage to the country’s former Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who died over the weekend eight years after suffering a massive stroke that left him lingering in a coma until his death. <br /><br /> Sharon was a controversial figure to say the least, considered in many parts of the world as a murderer and war-criminal. <br /><br /> He was eulogised at his funeral as a peacemaker with Israeli President Shimon Peres describing him as the shoulder that supported Israeli security. <br /><br /> Among the representatives from the wider international community was the Special Envoy to the Middle East Quartet, Tony Blair. <br /><br /> After the ceremony at the Knesset, Sharon’s body was taken to the Israeli military memorial site of Latrun – a crucial battle-ground during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. <br /><br /> From there, his body will travel to Negev, where it will be buried in the family’s Sycamore ranch alongside the body of his wife Lilly.
