BICOM

The medical condition of Israel’s former-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has deteriorated sharply with his life thought to be in imminent danger.

Sharon, aged 85, has been in a coma since suffering a massive stroke almost exactly eight years ago and has spent most of the interim period at Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv. Last January, Sharon was said to have shown “surprisingly significant” brain activity, responding to the voice of his children. However, several weeks ago he underwent surgery following kidney failure and is now reportedly receiving dialysis treatment to prevent total organ failure.

Reflecting the seriousness of Sharon’s deterioration, Sheba Medical Center spokesman Amir Marom said “only God knows” what will happen in the coming days. Walla news website quoted a Sheba senior doctor saying, “The situation now depends mainly on the family.” Sharon’s son Omri, a former Knesset member, who is at his father’s bedside told the Jerusalem Post “We have hope, we always have hope.”

Sharon is an iconic figure in Israeli history. He became Prime Minister as leader of the Likud Party in 2001 and eventually stemmed the violence of the Second Intifada. In 2003 he accepted the Quartet backed Roadmap to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two state solution. In what was a political earthquake in Israel, Sharon then reversed years of support for settlement expansion by orchestrating Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements in 2005. The move left the Likud party divided, and in 2005 he left Likud to set up the centrist Kadima Party alongside the likes of Shimon Peres, Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni. Several months later, a stroke debilitated Sharon, but Kadima went on to win the following election under Olmert’s leadership.

Sharon forged a reputation for toughness during a military career which included a pivotal role in battles in the Sinai region during wars in 1967 and 1973. He was instrumental in establishing the Likud party and was a key figure in its settlement expansion policies after it came to power in 1977. By 1982, he had become Defence Minister, but resigned after an Israeli inquiry determined that he had indirect responsibility for the Sabra and Shatilla massacres carried out by Israel’s Maronite Christian allies during the First Lebanon War. Sharon subsequently served in various other ministerial roles before becoming leader of the Likud in 1999.

Last night, Livni said via Facebook “I can’t stop thinking about Arik [Sharon’s nickname] this evening.”