Sharon Suffers Massive Stroke

(JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was in 'serious' condition and was expected to undergo several more hours of brain surgery after suffering a major stroke, a hospital official said Thursday morning.

Sharon underwent about six hours of surgery that initially appeared to stop the bleeding in his brain, said Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the director of Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

But a subsequent brain scan revealed more bleeding and resulted in Sharon being taken back to the operating room, Mor-Yosef said."

Sharon's stroke plunged the country into political uncertainty less than three months before a pivotal election.

Sharon, 77, was taken by ambulance Wednesday night from his home in the Negev Desert, in southern Israel, to the hospital after complaining of chest pain and weakness, according to his senior adviser, Ra'anan Gissen. More...

The loss of Ariel Sharon will undoubtly unstabilize the already fragile tolerance of a Palestinian state in the region and the stability of the Lukid party at the same time. The reaction of the Palestinians to his demise will be reflective of the backlash they will recieve by the next PM. Most likely Neten"yahoo", who will make Sharon look like a pussy cat to the rest of the world. Palestinians best not waste their ammo on shooting into the sky in jubilation and get too emboldened by this turn of events. They will surely come to regret it if they do, and lose the best change for a Palestinian state that has come their way since the demise of Yassar Arafat.