Israeli PM Sharon hospitalised

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rushed to hospital after briefly losing consciousness on Sunday, medics said.

They said that his condition was not life-threatening but gave no further details. Israeli television said that he had suffered a minor stroke and that he was being taken for an X-ray.

"He lost consciousness on the way to hospital and then regained it," said one medic.

Sharon, 77, has led the most dramatic turnaround in Israeli politics for decades after withdrawing settlers from the Gaza Strip and then breaking with his rightist Likud party and saying he wanted to pursue peacemaking with the Palestinians.

The portly Sharon has occasionally looked drawn during the months of struggling to push through his plans, but there had been no major health scares.