85-year-old former prime minister and defense minister, comatose since 2006, suffers renal failure in hospital
Ilan Ben Zion and AP
The Times of Israel
1/1/2014
Comatose former prime minister Ariel Sharon’s condition has gravely deteriorated and he is near death, doctors said on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer said Sharon’s condition began taking a turn for the worse in recent days.
Doctors said Sharon, 85, who has been in a vegetative state since 2006, was suffering from renal failure that could lead to multiple organ system failure and death.
Hebrew media reports late Wednesday said doctors had told the family that Sharon had, at most, no more than four days to live.
“The situation now depends mainly on the family and the decisions they make,” a senior doctor at the Sheba Hospital told Walla News…
…Sharon is one of Israel’s most iconic and controversial figures. As one of Israel’s most famous generals, Sharon was known for bold tactics and an occasional refusal to obey orders. As a politician he became known as “the bulldozer,” a man contemptuous of his critics while also capable of getting things done…
…A prominent hard-line voice over the decades, he was elected prime minister in 2001.
In mid-2005, he directed a unilateral withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip, ending a 38-year military control of the territory. It was a shocking turnaround for a man who had been a leading player in building Jewish settlements in captured territories…
The complete article is at The Times of Israel.
