Sharon may still be alive but he won't be back. All the rules just changed in the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

Operation reduces pressure on PM's brain

A spokesman for Jerusalem's Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, said Friday evening that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains in serious but stable condition after emerging from surgery - the third operation in two days - aimed at relieving intra-cranial pressure.

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Sharon puts Mideast future in flux

Love him or hate him, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been an undeniable fact of life in Middle Eastern politics and military affairs for nearly six decades. Bewildered Arabs and Israelis spent Thursday trying to fathom the region without him if a massive stroke forces him to step down. The Middle East could face heightened instability and bloodshed without the stabilizing leadership of the 77-year-old prime minister, according to some analysts. But others said prospects for peace could be markedly improved with the exit of the self-proclaimed warrior, who was in critical condition after being hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage Wednesday.

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The end of the Sharon era
Once despised by a generation of Israelis, Ariel Sharon became a venerated father figure. His passing leaves the future of the Middle East in even greater doubt.

Ariel Sharon's critical illness marks the end of an era in Israel's leadership, and the beginning of a new chapter in the Jewish state's history. Throughout a unique military and political career, spanning over six decades, Sharon has been one of the most influential figures on Israel's national security, physical landscape and political map. Alternately viewed as a hero and a villain in his many public capacities, he exits Israel's political stage as an admired father figure, the most popular prime minister Israelis have had in a generation.

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