A person holds a folder with photographs of the former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon just moments after his son announced that Sharon has died in the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014. Sharon, the hard-charging Israeli general and prime minister who was admired and hated for his battlefield exploits and ambitions to reshape the Middle East, died Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014. The 85-year-old Sharon had been in a coma since a debilitating stroke eight years ago.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
January 11, 2014 - 8:47 AM
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is remembering former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a leader who dedicated his life to Israel.
In a written statement, Obama used Sharon's death Saturday to reaffirm what the president says is America's unshakable commitment to Israel's security and its appreciation for the friendship between the two countries and their people.
Obama says the U.S. continues to press for lasting peace and security for all Israelis.
Tributes to Sharon also poured in from Secretary of State John Kerry, former President Bill Clinton and other Washington leaders.
Kerry calls Sharon a "big bear of a man" who's finally at rest.
Sharon died eight years after a stroke put him in a coma. He was 85.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014