( CNN ) -- What is Ariel Sharon 's legacy ? The eulogies have focused on his decision to pull Israeli settlers out of Gaza in 2005 under the so-called `` disengagement plan . '' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Sharon 's `` political courage and determination . '' U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Sharon `` surprised many in his pursuit of peace . '' The reality is that Sharon 's withdrawal from Gaza portended no courage to change his pro-settlement , virulently anti-Palestinian policies . Since the 1970s , when he planned and helped establish 64 West Bank settlements , Sharon had earned his moniker as `` the father of the settlements . '' His evacuation of 21 settlements in Gaza and four in the West Bank seemed surprising , indeed . But the removal of settlers must be seen in the context that overall during Sharon 's term as Israel 's prime minister from 2001 to 2006 , the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank , including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights , increased from roughly 388,000 to 461,000 . Sharon 's legacy is deeply disturbing . He went to his grave without facing justice for terrible things he did . His death is a grim reminder that impunity for human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law has plagued Israel and the Palestinians for far too long . It mattered little to Sharon that Israel 's transfer of its civilians into Palestinian territories wasâ€ ” and isâ€ ” a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and a potential war crime . It mattered even less that the settlement regime and Israel 's military rule in these areas subjects Palestinians to severe discrimination and a mountain of restrictions that makes life miserable . Part and parcel of this settlement expansion plan was Sharon 's construction of the Israeli separation barrier , which today stands as a monument to human rights violations . Sharon 's government approved its construction in 2002 , ostensibly to prevent Palestinian attacks that killed 640 Israeli civilians during his term . But the real motivation for the barrier , as countless studies have documented , was to build a wall around the Israeli settlements , deep into the West Bank , cutting off thousands of Palestinians from the rest of the West Bank . Worse , he avoided prosecution for the killings of civilians in which he was implicated : a fact that deserves not eulogy , but infamy . Ban and Kerry could n't very well mention it , but history will remember Sharon for his role in the massacres of civilians by Lebanese militias in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982 . From September 16 to 18 , the militias killed at least 700 people , and perhaps more than 2,000 , including infants , children , pregnant women and the elderly , some of whose bodies were found to have been mutilated . Sharon , as Israel 's defense minister in 1982 , had overall responsibility for the Israel Defense Forces , which controlled the area of the camps . According to a document prepared by his office , Sharon 's instructions on September 15 , the day before the massacres began , included : `` For the operation in the camps the Phalangists should be sent in . '' In February 1983 , the Kahan Commission , Israel 's official commission of inquiry investigating the events , found that Sharon bore `` personal responsibility '' for the massacre . There was a `` serious consideration ... that the Phalangists were liable to commit atrocities , '' the commission reported , but `` from ( Sharon ) himself , we know that this consideration did not concern him in the least . '' His `` disregard of the danger of a massacre '' was `` impossible to justify , '' the commission found , and recommended his dismissal as defense minister . Although he did resign as defense minister , in a glaring example of gross impunity for crimes against Palestinians , Sharon remained in the Israeli Cabinet as a minister without portfolio and later became prime minister , serving until his stroke in January 2006 . Similarly , Elie Hobeika , the Phalangist leader the Kahan Commission named as responsible for directing the militias , also escaped prosecution and served as a Lebanese Cabinet minister until being killed by a car bomb in 2002 . The massacres constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity . Yet Israeli justice authorities did not conduct a criminal investigation to determine whether Sharon and other Israeli military officials bore criminal responsibility . Israel also made sure that no one else could bring Sharon to justice , either . In 2001 , survivors from Sabra and Shatila brought a case in Belgium requesting Sharon be prosecuted under Belgium 's `` universal jurisdiction '' law . Political pressure from the United States and Israel -- it `` was like nothing I have ever seen , '' said a colleague who closely followed the issue at the time -- led Belgium 's parliament to amend the law in April 2003 , and to repeal it in August . Belgium 's highest court dropped the case against Sharon that September . Many in Israel are now highlighting Sharon 's record as a warrior and bold political leader . But it is worth pausing to consider his record as a man who brought devastation and destruction to the lives of thousands of Palestinians , without ever facing justice for his crimes , and whose policies undermined efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sarah Leah Whitson .
Sarah Whitson : While eulogies praise Ariel Sharon , his legacy is actually disturbing . Cohen : Sharon 's pro - settlement , virulently anti - Palestinian policies were harmful . She says he avoided prosecution for the killings of civilians in which he was implicated . Cohen : His legacy is a grim reminder that impunity for human rights abuses still exists .