Israeli PM Sharon in critical condition

[buttmunch]

Israel's Ariel Sharon has undergone seven hours of surgery following a major stroke, and is now in a critical but stable condition, doctors say.
Doctors managed to stop the bleeding in the 77-year-old's brain, the director of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem said.

"He is stable. All his vital signs are within normal limits but his condition is severe," Shlomo Mor-Yosef said.

A Cabinet meeting began as the statement was made, with Deputy PM Ehud Olmert assuming Mr Sharon's powers.

He sat next to Mr Sharon's empty chair, looking grave and exhausted, the BBC's James Reynolds in Jerusalem says.

Israeli media and political figures are speculating that even if Mr Sharon recovers, his leadership is over.

Intensive care

Mr Mor-Yosef said Mr Sharon had been transferred to a neurosurgery intensive care unit for evaluation and treatment.

He was taken to hospital on Wednesday evening, less than three weeks after being treated for a minor stroke in December.




Profile: Ehud Olmert
Sharon stroke hits shares
Press reflects nation's shock

Doctor said the prime minister had suffered a "significant" stroke and subsequently required two separate operations to stop bleeding in his brain.

Mr Sharon, who is seriously overweight, was prescribed blood-thinning drugs after December's stroke and told to diet.

He was due to have an operation on Thursday to close up a small hole in the heart which doctors believed may have caused the earlier stroke.

'Praying'

Police and security agents set up a security cordon around the hospital, and also stationed themselves around Mr Olmert's residence in Jerusalem.


ARIEL SHARON'S HEALTH
Sharon suffers "minor" stoke 18 December 2005
Doctors discover small hole in heart, schedule operation for 5 January
Sharon rushed to hospital one day before scheduled surgery with major stroke


What is a stroke?

US President George Bush said in a statement he shared the concerns of the Israeli people "and we are praying for his recovery".

Two senior US envoys cancelled a planned trip to Israel in light of the news, as did Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Palestinian deputy leader Nabil Shaath said Mr Sharon's illness would "increase the uncertainty we are facing to get back to the peace process".

But the Palestinian militant movement Hamas said the Middle East would be better off without Mr Sharon.

Newspapers and television in the Arab world have been carrying minute-by-minute updates on the condition of Mr Sharon, a deeply unpopular figure among many Arabs.

Reportage has been largely neutral, observers say.

Uncertain future

Mr Sharon, who has been prime minister since 2001, had been planning to run for a third term in office under his newly formed centrist party, Kadima, after quitting the ruling Likud party in November.

HAVE YOUR SAY
Sharon is a remnant of old Israeli politics, having been a potent force in the region for a long time

Wendy, Nimes, France


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Polls had suggested his new party is in the lead ahead of the election in March.

However, David Horowitz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, said Mr Olmert does not have the charisma of Mr Sharon or the ability to carry his controversial policies through.

Mr Sharon was thought likely to follow the unilateral withdrawal of settlers from the Gaza Strip with significant "painful concessions" in the West Bank.

The Kadima party "is united solely around Sharon... it will be much less electable without Sharon," Mr Horowitz said.

Mr Sharon's long-term rival, former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, told Israel Radio on Thursday morning that his Likud party would not withdraw from government on Sunday, as had been planned.

The value of the Israeli shekel fell sharply on the news of Mr Sharon's stroke, as did shares.

bbc.co.uk

Well, this should be interesting to watch pan out. The man finally, FINALLY does something positive and what happens? He's hit with a massive stroke. It just doesn't pay to do the right thing anymore, eh?

[A*O]

Even if he gets through this second major stroke in as many weeks, he won't be able to govern. His enemies are already crowing that his illness is 'the hand of God'. Sigh. Watch this space and pray, no matter what your religious persuasion.

[ourmaninBusan]

For every good thing he did, there was something else that
was hidden from the (US) media. For starters, the "wall,"
or "security fence", was actually a land grab done under the
guise of self-defense.

From Robert Fisk:

Then there is the "wall," the massive concrete obstruction whose purpose,
according to the Israeli authorities, is to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers
from killing innocent Israelis. In this, it seems to have had some success. But
it does not follow the line of Israel's 1967 border and cuts deeply into Arab
land. And all too often these days, journalists call it a "fence" rather than
a "wall." Or a "security barrier," which is what Israel prefers them to say. For
some of its length, we are told, it is not a wall at all — so we cannot call it
a "wall," even though the vast snake of concrete and steel that runs east of
Jerusalem is higher than the old Berlin Wall.

I suspect if we wanted to get really critical, we would go to rotten.com
and look at the pictures of Jenin, where an outright massacre may
have happened.

[Grimmlok]

I won't cry when he's gone. The pullout wasn't even a pullout. You aren't giving anything back when you expand further into another area to make up for it.

30 years of slaughter and crime, and the man is finally about to kick it. It's not the hand of god, it's being morbidly obese and 77 years old.

Frankly, the sooner all the old guard and their dinosaur ways die off the better the situation.

[glamazon]

WHY is Pat Robertson saying it's God's punishment? What is WRONG with Pat?! I odn't love Ariel Sharon either, but shit, the man's dying!! WHERE IS THE RESPECT FOR LIFE ?!?!

[sweetrebel]

Originally Posted by glamazon

WHY is Pat Robertson saying it's God's punishment? What is WRONG with Pat?! I odn't love Ariel Sharon either, but shit, the man's dying!! WHERE IS THE RESPECT FOR LIFE ?!?!

I just read that-I think the man is off his rocker!! I believe people arer entitled to an opinion, but for him to say things like that makes people believe that all Christians think like that and I don't think they do...

[Hazeleyed_Honey]

Pat Robertson is such a looney,but it is OK we all know he'll burn in God's hellfires for being such a prejudice prick. And HE thinks he is God's messenger?*lol*

As for Sharon...I just KNOW the Western media will label him as a "peacemaker" and all that other crappola. To us Palestinians he was FAR from that.I bet you they will just write a BLURB about the Sabra and Shatila massacres and won't even emphasize on it.

To this day, we still haven't gotten our justice for the genocide that happened in Sabra & Shatila in 1982.NO ONE has been tried for it or even punished for it. It is estimated that 2500-3000 Palestinians were tortured, raped and killed. He was supposed to be tried for it in front of the International Courts when his term was finished as Prime Minister for Israel.Here's some information..

...
During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Israel instructed Christian Phalange militants to enter Beirut's Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs reports that it was "Under the approving and watchful eyes of Israeli forces surrounding the camps" that "the militiamen went on a rampage, indiscriminately slaughtering children and the elderly, raping and then killing young girls and women, and butchering unarmed men." In 38 hours, 2,000 civilians had been murdered. [56] U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East at the time, Morris Draper had told then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, "You must stop the slaughter… The situation is absolutely appalling. They are killing children. You have the field completely under your control and are therefore responsible for that area." [57] Two days later, in response to the slaughter, the U.N. passed resolution 521, which condemned "the criminal massacre of Palestinian and other civilians in Beirut on 17 September 1982" and demanded that "Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon"--a resolution which, like so many others against Israel, was ignored. [58]

With a known history of brutality towards Palestinian, Israeli writer Amos Elon likens this use of the Phalange to "A man who puts a snake into a child's bed and says: 'I'm sorry. I told the snake not to bite. I didn't know snakes were so dangerous.' It's impossible to understand. This man's a war criminal." [59] Of course, the "man" referred to is none other than Ariel Sharon, who was found by an Israeli investigation into the incident to bear "personal responsibility" for the crimes, leading to his resignation as Minister of Defense (Sharon did not face charges, however, and, needless to say, this stain in his career didn't prevent him from becoming Prime Minister).

More recently, in June of 2001, Human Rights Watch urged that "A criminal investigation into Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's role in the massacre of civilians in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla should be launched". [60] A group of 23 Palestinian survivors of the massacre have brought charges against Sharon in a Belgium Court, which has ruled that Sharon can be tried for war crimes after he leaves office. [61]
...
http://www.yirmeyahureview.com/artic...n_together.htm

Sharon is known as the Butcher of Sabra and Shattila.
Pictures from the tragic events of Sabra and Shattila: