Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is reportedly clinging to life in an Israeli hospital this Thursday. The Israeli political icon has been in a coma for eight long years and has suffered a steady deterioration in his bodily organs. Doctors believe he may not have much longer to live.

“He is in critical condition and his life is definitely in danger,” said Dr. Zeev Rotstein, director of Sheba Medical center in Tel Hashomer, Israel. “The feeling of the doctors treating him as well as the family with him is that there is a turn for the worse,” he added. Rotstein announced to reporters that Sharon has suffered “critical malfunction” to his kidney and other vital organs.

Sharon, who is now 85, has been in a coma since January of 2006 after suffering a severe stroke. Just prior to the stroke he was Israel’s Prime Minister and running for re-election.

Sharon has had a long career that has spanned Israel’s 65-year history. Before becoming a politician, Sharon was also a revered military leader. He started his military career in 1953 and soon became an army major general. He is credited for his role in overcoming the Arab army’s surprise attack on Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. As Defense Minister, he orchestrated the invasion of Lebanon in 1982 in an attempt to snuff out Palestine Liberation Organization fighters. The wars resulted in many casualties on both sides.

In December of 2005, Sharon had his first stroke. He was placed on blood thinners but then suffered a brain hemorrhage in January of 2006.

After spending months in a Jerusalem hospital he was transferred to a long term care facility in Tel Hashomer where he is currently being treated. Unfortunately, Sharon never regained full consciousness since 2006 and now appears to be fading fast. His family is said to be keeping watch at his bedside.

Image via Wikipedia