Israeli PM Sharon in critical condition
JERUSALEM, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Surgeons stemmed the bleeding in Ariel Sharon's brain on Thursday after a massive stroke felled the Israeli prime minister in the midst of his fight for re-election on a promise to end conflict with the Palestinians.
"The prime minister had a CT scan that showed that the bleeding has stopped," Shlomo Mor-Yosef of Hadassah hospital told reporters after the seven-hour operation.
"He was then put in the neurological emergency unit for observation ... All vital signs are functional and stable. The prime minister is in critical condition."
Mor-Yosef made no comment on the extent of brain damage the 77-year-old Sharon may have suffered as a result of the cerebral haemorrhage, also known as a bleeding stroke. His deputy, Ehud Olmert, chaired a cabinet meeting as acting prime minister.
Sharon, long seriously overweight and hit by a mild stroke on Dec. 18, was rushed for treatment late on Wednesday from his ranch in southern Israel after complaining he felt unwell.
He has been a dominant figure for decades in shaping the Middle East. Opinion polls have predicted he would easily win a general election scheduled for March 28 at the head of a newly formed party.
Sharon's death or incapacitation would inevitably cause political upheaval in Israel and set back hopes for peacemaking raised by a Gaza pullout he completed in September despite right-wing opposition in the Jewish state.
Haaretz newspaper said on its Web site that Sharon was paralysed in half of his body. Medical experts agreed the prime minister was unlikely to pull through the operation without his faculties being at least seriously impaired.
"With all due caution, it appears as though the era of Sharon leading Israel has reached its tragic end," wrote Aluf Ben, Haaretz's diplomatic correspondent.
Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's biggest newspaper, summed up Sharon's situation in a terse banner headline: "The Final Battle".
Addressing ministers at the cabinet meeting, Olmert said: "Israel, through its determination and strength, will be able to cope with this difficult situation."
BUSH PRAYING
U.S. President George W. Bush, a close ally of Sharon, said "we are praying for his recovery".
"Prime Minister Sharon is a man of courage and peace. On behalf of all Americans, we send our best wishes and hopes to the prime minister and his family," he said.
Sharon had been due to undergo an operation on Thursday at Hadassah to repair a tiny hole in his heart thought to have caused the blood clot that led to last month's stroke.
Doctors speculated on Israeli television that blood-thinning drugs administered over the past two weeks may have contributed to Wednesday's more massive stroke.
The hefty ex-general popularly known as "The Bulldozer" spent several days in hospital after last month's ailment but quickly ploughed back into a punishing public schedule.
Sharon had appeared to be on course to win the March election as leader of the new centrist Kadima party.
He founded it after quitting the right-wing Likud in the face of a party rebellion over the Gaza withdrawal that ended 38 years of military rule in the coastal territory.
He has campaigned on a platform of readiness to give up more occupied land in the West Bank as a way to end decades of conflict, but has vowed to keep Israel's hold on major settlement blocs.
BOLD STEPS
A large part of Sharon's popularity among Israelis stems from a belief that he could take bold steps that others would not get away with given his background as the archetypal hawk.
Palestinians have long suspected that Sharon's plans for ending conflict meant that he would dictate terms that would leave them only fragments of the state they seek.
Deputy Palestinian Prime Minister Nabil Shaath said he did not believe Sharon ever had any faith in the peace process, but his condition would increase uncertainty over getting back to negotiations.
Battered by Sharon's harsh measures to fight a five-year-old uprising, militant factions reacted with glee.
"The whole region will be better off with him absent," said powerful Islamic group Hamas. "Sharon was the one who carried out massacres and terrorism for decades against our people."
In Washington, White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley briefed Bush on Sharon's condition.
Bush has relied heavily on Sharon as he attempts to coax Israelis and Palestinians into a peace agreement. He scolded Sharon after the prime minister's stroke in December, telling him to watch what he eats and get more exercise.
Sharon's health crisis was likely to further slow Bush's quest for two states, Palestine and Israel, living in peace.
Hopes for progress were already dwindling given the possibility of a delay to a Jan. 25 Palestinian election and growing internal unrest in the Gaza Strip and West Bank as well as an increase in violence with Israel.
Sharon's old foe Yasser Arafat, an iconic leader for the Palestinians, died in Nov. 2004 when a brain haemorrhage ended weeks of illness. (Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Corinne Heller, Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Steve Holland in Washington)
"The prime minister had a CT scan that showed that the bleeding has stopped," Shlomo Mor-Yosef of Hadassah hospital told reporters after the seven-hour operation.
"He was then put in the neurological emergency unit for observation ... All vital signs are functional and stable. The prime minister is in critical condition."
Mor-Yosef made no comment on the extent of brain damage the 77-year-old Sharon may have suffered as a result of the cerebral haemorrhage, also known as a bleeding stroke. His deputy, Ehud Olmert, chaired a cabinet meeting as acting prime minister.
Sharon, long seriously overweight and hit by a mild stroke on Dec. 18, was rushed for treatment late on Wednesday from his ranch in southern Israel after complaining he felt unwell.
He has been a dominant figure for decades in shaping the Middle East. Opinion polls have predicted he would easily win a general election scheduled for March 28 at the head of a newly formed party.
Sharon's death or incapacitation would inevitably cause political upheaval in Israel and set back hopes for peacemaking raised by a Gaza pullout he completed in September despite right-wing opposition in the Jewish state.
Haaretz newspaper said on its Web site that Sharon was paralysed in half of his body. Medical experts agreed the prime minister was unlikely to pull through the operation without his faculties being at least seriously impaired.
"With all due caution, it appears as though the era of Sharon leading Israel has reached its tragic end," wrote Aluf Ben, Haaretz's diplomatic correspondent.
Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's biggest newspaper, summed up Sharon's situation in a terse banner headline: "The Final Battle".
Addressing ministers at the cabinet meeting, Olmert said: "Israel, through its determination and strength, will be able to cope with this difficult situation."
BUSH PRAYING
U.S. President George W. Bush, a close ally of Sharon, said "we are praying for his recovery".
"Prime Minister Sharon is a man of courage and peace. On behalf of all Americans, we send our best wishes and hopes to the prime minister and his family," he said.
Sharon had been due to undergo an operation on Thursday at Hadassah to repair a tiny hole in his heart thought to have caused the blood clot that led to last month's stroke.
Doctors speculated on Israeli television that blood-thinning drugs administered over the past two weeks may have contributed to Wednesday's more massive stroke.
The hefty ex-general popularly known as "The Bulldozer" spent several days in hospital after last month's ailment but quickly ploughed back into a punishing public schedule.
Sharon had appeared to be on course to win the March election as leader of the new centrist Kadima party.
He founded it after quitting the right-wing Likud in the face of a party rebellion over the Gaza withdrawal that ended 38 years of military rule in the coastal territory.
He has campaigned on a platform of readiness to give up more occupied land in the West Bank as a way to end decades of conflict, but has vowed to keep Israel's hold on major settlement blocs.
BOLD STEPS
A large part of Sharon's popularity among Israelis stems from a belief that he could take bold steps that others would not get away with given his background as the archetypal hawk.
Palestinians have long suspected that Sharon's plans for ending conflict meant that he would dictate terms that would leave them only fragments of the state they seek.
Deputy Palestinian Prime Minister Nabil Shaath said he did not believe Sharon ever had any faith in the peace process, but his condition would increase uncertainty over getting back to negotiations.
Battered by Sharon's harsh measures to fight a five-year-old uprising, militant factions reacted with glee.
"The whole region will be better off with him absent," said powerful Islamic group Hamas. "Sharon was the one who carried out massacres and terrorism for decades against our people."
In Washington, White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley briefed Bush on Sharon's condition.
Bush has relied heavily on Sharon as he attempts to coax Israelis and Palestinians into a peace agreement. He scolded Sharon after the prime minister's stroke in December, telling him to watch what he eats and get more exercise.
Sharon's health crisis was likely to further slow Bush's quest for two states, Palestine and Israel, living in peace.
Hopes for progress were already dwindling given the possibility of a delay to a Jan. 25 Palestinian election and growing internal unrest in the Gaza Strip and West Bank as well as an increase in violence with Israel.
Sharon's old foe Yasser Arafat, an iconic leader for the Palestinians, died in Nov. 2004 when a brain haemorrhage ended weeks of illness. (Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Corinne Heller, Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Steve Holland in Washington)
posted by Marko at 1/05/2006 02:26:00 AM
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