After 8 Years in a Coma, Ariel Sharon is Finally Fading

BBC
January 3, 2013

The condition of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma for almost eight years, has seriously deteriorated, the hospital treating him has told the BBC.

Israeli media reports say he has suffered renal failure.

Mr Sharon, 85, became prime minister in 2001, but in December 2005 he suffered a mild stroke.

After a second, major stroke in 2006, he went into a coma and has been in a persistent vegetative state ever since.

Having fought in three Middle Eastern wars, Mr Sharon is admired by many Israelis as a great military leader, but reviled by Palestinians.

While serving as defence minister in 1982, he masterminded Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. During the invasion, Lebanese Christian militiamen allied to Israel massacred hundreds of Palestinians in two Beirut refugee camps under Israeli control.

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