Israelis keep national vigil after Sharon surgery
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-07 19:31

CRUCIAL JUNCTURE FOR PEACE PROCESS

Sharon's doctors, speaking before Friday's surgery, cautioned against undue pessimism over his condition.

"Everyone is mentioning the less pleasant things," said Hadassah's deputy director Shmuel Shapira. "Any assessment is irresponsible. Things can go one way or the other."

Sharon is reviled in the Arab world but increasingly seen by the West as having opened up new prospects for peace. He suffered his stroke at a crucial juncture as he was fighting for re-election on a promise to end conflict with the Palestinians.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cancelled a trip to Indonesia and Australia because of concerns over his condition and the risk of another eruption of Middle East violence.

Political analysts said Israel's March 28 election, which Sharon had been widely expected to win as head of the new centrist Kadima party, would become an open race without him.

Much of Sharon's popularity among Israelis stems from a belief he could take bold steps towards reconciliation with the Palestinians which others would not get away with, given his background as the archetypal hawk.

But two opinion polls published in newspapers on Friday suggested that under Olmert, Kadima would still win around 40 of parliament's 120 seats -- well ahead of Likud, the rightist party Sharon abandoned, and centre-left Labour.

Sharon had been campaigning on a platform of readiness to give up some occupied land in the West Bank, but has vowed to hold on to major West Bank settlement blocs, a prospect Palestinians say would deny them a viable state.

In a possible sign of Washington's concern that Sharon's absence might stall its Middle East diplomatic efforts, Rice spoke to Olmert briefly by telephone to express solidarity.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Olmert on Thursday to voice hopes Sharon would recover, but some other Palestinians were less forgiving of the Israeli leader's harsh measures to fight a five-year-old uprising.

One Muslim preacher at Friday prayers in Gaza denounced him as "the man who wiped the smiles from the faces of children". Sharon had insisted that tough tactics were needed to defend Israel against suicide bombers and other attackers.