Ariel Sharon burial service at family ranch in Negev desert

Israel’s former PM Ariel Sharon was buried at his family ranch in the Negev desert.

Earlier, speakers at the state memorial described him as an “indomitable” man devoted to the security of his people.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “one of the greatest military commanders the Jewish people have had”.

Ariel Sharon, regarded by many Israelis as a great statesmen but widely loathed in the Arab world, died on Saturday aged 85 after eight years in a coma.

Thousands of mourners paid their final respects on Sunday, when Ariel Sharon’s coffin lay in state outside parliament – the Knesset – in Jerusalem.

Amid final prayers, Ariel Sharon’s coffin was placed in a plot at the Sycamore ranch he owned near Sderot, close to Gaza.

Ariel Sharon lies beside his wife Lili, who died in 2000.