Tel Aviv, January 13 (RHC)-- Israel’s former prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has died at a hospital in Tel Aviv after eight years in coma, Israeli media reported. Israeli Army Radio said the former premier died on Saturday at the age of 85.

On January 4, 2006, Sharon suffered a stroke and went into a coma, from which he never recovered. He was being treated at the Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv. Sharon’s health condition deteriorated on January 1st, after he suffered kidney problems following surgery.

He was the prime minister of the Israeli regime from 2001 to 2006, and was directly responsible for war crimes against Palestinians and Lebanese. Jibril Rajoub, a top Palestinian official of the Fatah party, described Sharon as a criminal and expressed regret that he had never appeared before the International Criminal Court.

Hamas also said the death of ex-Israeli prime minister was a "historic moment," that marks the "disappearance of a criminal whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood."