was moved from Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, nearly five months after suffering a massive stroke.
Sharon, 78, was driven by ambulance to Sheba Medical Center in a heavily-guarded motorcade where doctors claimed they still believe they could wake him up from hia coma.
"The first goal is to wean Mr. Sharon from a respirator," said Dr. Ze’ev Rotstein, the head of Sheba. "And, the second goal is to wake him up from the coma."
MANY COMPLICATIONS
However he admitted that that the prognosis is not encouraging. "We are expecting a lot of complications, because that is common with this kind of long-term treatment," he said.
Sharon suffered the stroke after two landmark events. First, he pulled Israel out of Gaza in August, and dismantled all 21 Jewish settlements there, and then abandoned his Likud party and formed the centrist Kadima party.
His arrival in a long-term facility came as his successor and close friend, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, tried to end cross-border attacks from Lebanon by approving Israeli warplanes attacking about 20 Palestinian and Hezbollah guerrilla positions in South Lebanon. There were no immediate reports of injuries, and United Nations peacekeepers later managed to establish a ceasefire after hours of gunfire exchanges, reports said.
ROCKET ATTACKS
Officials said the attack was in response to rocket attacks across the border. "We will use both air and ground forces to deliver a harsh blow to terrorist elements that try to disrupt life in the north," Olmert said, resembling similar words spoken by Sharon during previous crisis.
Although Israel pulled out of Lebanon six years ago, the area remains volatile as Islamic Hezbollah guerillas, who are sworn to Israel’s destruction, control South Lebanon and are backed by Syria.
Israeli analysts have warned the border skirmishes between Israel and Hezbollah carry the danger of escalating into a conflict between two regional powers, Syria and Israel. It was unclear how the latest developments would impact Olmert’s plan, designed by Sharon, to withdraw from large parts of the West Bank unilaterally, and draw Israel’s borders by 2010. Christian organizations in the area and around the world have been praying for Israel this year. (With reports from Israel)
