Praise for 'great Leader' is Mixed With Concern for Future

Ariel Sharon's condition was greeted with deep concern by the Bush administration, which sees the Israeli prime minister as a vital support for its vision of Middle East peace. During his five years in office, Mr Sharon forged close ties with the administration, and was a frequent visitor to Washington.

In addition to the messages from George Bush and his wife Laura, there was warm praise yesterday from the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, who described Mr Sharon as "a wonderful, historic leader" for his decision to evacuate the Jewish settlements of the Gaza Strip.

Jack Straw, Britain's foreign secretary, praised Mr Sharon as a huge political figure who since becoming prime minister five years ago had surprised the world. Speaking during a visit to Lebanon, he said Mr Sharon was "a man not only of great political courage, but of astonishing physical courage and resilience as well. He's had a huge effect on the region."

The Foreign Office had a jaundiced view of Mr Sharon, at least in his early years in office. Mr Straw, on his first visit to see him in Jerusalem in 2001, used the word "Palestine" to describe the occupied territories, about a year before President Bush made the term acceptable. Mr Sharon's office cancelled the meeting. But relations improved, in part because of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza last summer.

The British government's vision for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is most closely matched by the Israeli Labour party, but Ehud Olmert, one of the leaders of Mr Sharon's new party, Kadima, and the acting prime minister, is closer to the Foreign Office view than the Likud leader, Binyamin Netanyahu.