Israeli leader Sharon fights for his life
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-06 06:54

Despite Sharon's age and the minor stroke he suffered two weeks ago, Israelis seemed shocked by the illness of a man viewed as unflappable during his decades in public life, first as a hero in Israel's earliest wars and later as the country's best known political hawk.

Sharon led Israel's fight against the Palestinians during nearly five years of violence and his military background gave him the credibility with the Israeli public to make concessions to the Palestinians.

"He was one of a kind. I don't know any other man like him," said Joseph Lapid, head of the opposition Shinui Party.

Sharon rose to prominence as an army officer, setting up a unit that fought Palestinian infiltrators in the 1950s. He served as a commander of the Gaza region after Israel captured the territory in 1967, before entering politics and forging the Likud Party. Sharon briefly returned to the army to lead the fight against Egypt during the 1973 Mideast war.

As defense minister, Sharon directed Israel's ill-fated invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and was forced to step down by an Israeli commission of inquiry that found him indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinians in two refugee camps by Christian Phalangist soldiers.

Sharon re-emerged as prime minister in 2001 soon after the outbreak of new Israeli-Palestinian violence, and two years later he reversed his decades-long support for Jewish settlement and pushed through his Gaza pullout plan.

Despite the pullout, Sharon is widely reviled in the Arab world for his tough actions against Palestinians.

Some Palestinian children handed out sweets in the Gaza Strip at news of Sharon's illness. Other Palestinians worried that it could delay their upcoming elections.

Sharon fell ill Wednesday evening while resting at his ranch in southern Israel ahead of a medical procedure scheduled for Thursday to close a small hole in his heart. Doctors rushed him to Jerusalem, and he suffered the stroke during the hourlong drive.

Doctors said they stopped the bleeding during surgery. His condition may have been complicated by blood thinners he took after his mild stroke Dec. 18.