‘A matter of time’: Ariel Sharon in critical condition

Zeev Rotstein, director of the Sheba Medical Centre, said the ex-general and right wing leader had suffered a “very serious” decline, and that doctors expect a deterioration in several life-sustaining organs.

“We are defining his condition as critical, and there is definitely a threat to his life,” he said. “The feeling of everyone … is that this decline is very serious.”

It was the first official medical statement since media outlets reported 85-year-old Mr Sharon had suffered a kidney malfunction on Wednesday.

‘Matter of time’

A former aide to Mr Sharon, Raanan Gissin, said this wasa “very sad moment”.

“There is no doubt that there is a deterioration in his condition in his kidneys and so forth and some assessment of doctors is that this is a matter of time of days maybe hours that Ariel Sharon will not be with us,” he said.

“This is a very sad moment for me because I was his adviser for over 15 years and it’s a very sad moment also for people in Israel because Ariel Sharon was an icon in Israel, he was like Nelson Mandela was for people in South Africa.”

‘Locked-in’

He has been in a vegetative state since January 2006, when he suffered a stroke. An MRI scan a year ago detected some brain activity, when Mr Sharon was shown photographs of his family and when asked to imagine his home.

However, doctors who carried out the scan said Mr Sharon was effectively in a “locked-in” state, and was unable to activate any muscles.