It is "a comfort," he said, to Sharon's family that it seems they've reached him, but they should keep in mind that it's unclear what that means right now.

The news about Sharon has reminded the world of his legacy and that it still looms large in Israel.

As minister of defense in 1982, he orchestrated Israel's invasion of Lebanon, a military operation that killed hundreds of Lebanese civilians as Israeli forces sought to wipe out Palestine Liberation Organization fighters in the region.

His visit in September 2000 to a holy site in Jerusalem -- known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount -- set off clashes between Palestinians and Israelis that developed into the Second Intifada, or uprising. Several months later, voters elected him as prime minister by the largest margin of victory in Israeli history.

In 2003, he held talks with Palestinian officials about the U.S.-led "road map to peace" that called for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.

He broke from the right-wing party Likud in November 2005 to form a centrist political party, Kadima, which means "forward" in Hebrew.