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Sharon in hospital after mild stroke
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-19 08:09
"Their celebration is a bit premature and exaggerated ¡ª the prime minister is
very well," Gissin said.
Sharon grew weak and confused Sunday evening soon after a meeting with former
Prime Minister Shimon Peres. The premier was immediately rushed to the hospital
in his official vehicle and taken to the emergency room, media reports said.
Sharon's sons, Omri and Gilad, rushed to the hospital.
"Initial checks showed he had a mild stroke. and during checks his condition
improved. He was always conscious and didn't need any surgical intervention,"
said Yuval Weiss, the hospital's deputy director.
Goldman said the prime minister did not lose consciousness and was having no
problems with his motor skills. He was certain the prime minister would recover
fully.
"Unequivocally, there is no damage," Goldman, said. "He had anticoagulant
treatment. He will need to be in the hospital for a few days."
If Sharon is incapacitated, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, a close ally, would
take over the day-to-day running of the government.
But Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon said that would not be necessary.
"Because the prime minister is functioning and communicating and talking,
there is no relevance to the question of who will act in his place," he told
reporters. "He himself asked to be released tonight to go home, and the doctors
suggested he stay under observation."
Sharon, a former army general, was elected prime minister in 2001, months
after the beginning of nearly five years of Israel-Palestinian violence. Sharon
led the Israeli crackdown on the Palestinian uprising and was vilified by many
Palestinians.
Then he led Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip last summer after 38 years
of occupation.
Following the Gaza pullout, Sharon threw the Israeli political map into
disarray while preparing to run for a third term in office in March 28
elections.
Sharon split from the Likud Party, which he helped found three decades ago,
saying it had become too extreme. A group of hard-line Likud lawmakers bitterly
fought against Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan. They lost the battle, but Sharon
determined that he could no longer lead the party.
Polls show that Sharon's new party ¡ª which includes more than a dozen former
Likud lawmakers ¡ª would finish far ahead of other parties, all but guaranteeing
he would form the next government and remain prime minister for a third term.
However, Kadima is built around Sharon, and if he were to fall ill, it almost
certainly would suffer a blow in the polls.
Sharon's health and age have always lurked in the background of his term as
prime minister. The ex-army general has never released his medical records but
has insisted in recent years that he is not suffering from any serious ailments.
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