Sharon taken to emergency room: hospital

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Former Israeli prime minister Ariel
Sharon was taken to a hospital emergency room on Wednesday
after his health worsened, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Sharon has been in a coma since January.

In a statement, the Sheba hospital near Tel Aviv said
Sharon was taken to an emergency care unit to drain fluids in
his body.

“The treatment is meant to be conducted within the next few
days, in an emergency care unit,” the statement said.

Sharon masterminded the 1982 invasion of Lebanon and the
worsening of his health comes as Israel is once again fighting
in its northern neighbor, battling Hizbollah guerrillas.

As defense minister, Sharon — as loved at home as he was
loathed in the Arab world — sent the Israeli army as far as
Beirut to root out Palestinian guerrillas.

Doctors at the hospital said on Sunday that the condition
of the 78-year-old Sharon, who fell into a coma after a stroke
on January 4, had deteriorated.

They said he was suffering from an accumulation of fluids
in his body and problems with the functioning of his kidneys.