JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, comatose since a 2006 stroke, slipped closer to death on Thursday after a sharp decline in the condition of the ex-general who long symbolised Israel's military might.
Reviled by Arabs over his hardline policies and viewed with a mixture of respect and suspicion by many Israelis, 85-year-old Sharon has been on life support at Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv for the past eight years, far from the public gaze.
