BICOM

It was announced yesterday that the medical condition of Israel’s former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has taken a sharp turn for the worse and that his life is in immediate and grave danger.

Last week 85-year-old Sharon, who has been in a coma since suffering a massive stroke eight years ago while in office, suffered kidney failure with his health fast deteriorating. However, the Sheba Medical Centre where Sharon is being treated announced yesterday “Over the past hours, there has been a worsening of the condition of former prime minister Ariel Sharon,” and Army Radio reported that he had only “a few days or even hours” left to live.

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.

This came after Sharon had 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. He served in various ministerial roles before becoming leader of the Likud in 1999.

Sharon’s family are said to have gathered around his bedside and media have assembled outside the hospital in force, anticipating Sharon’s passing. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office is reported to have already made plans for a state funeral. Sharon’s body would lie in state at the Knesset before a burial at his ranch in southern Israel, where he would be buried beside his wife Lily, who died in 2000.