Middle East

Ex-Israel PM Sharon’s condition worsens after years in coma

Former general has spent eight years in coma triggered by a stroke

A file photograph dated November 16th, 2005, shows then Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in his Jerusalem offices. Photograph: Jim Hollander/EPA
A file photograph dated November 16th, 2005, shows then Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in his Jerusalem offices. Photograph: Jim Hollander/EPA
Wed Jan 01 2014 - 19:22

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon’s condition has deteriorated after eight years in a coma triggered by a stroke, his former spokesman said.

Mr Sharon (85), is being treated by doctors at Sheba Hospital outside Tel Aviv, said former aide Raanan Gissen in a telephone interview, declining to give more details.

Israel Radio reported he is being treated for kidney failure.

Mr Sharon had served four years as prime minister when he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2006.

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Among Israel’s most controversial generals, Mr Sharon became defence minister and was forced to resign after a government commission assigned him indirect blame for the massacre of Palestinian refugees by Israeli-allied Lebanese Christians in 1982.

Bloomberg