Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died Saturday after a significant deterioration in his medical condition over the past two weeks.
Sharon, who was 85, was comatose for past eight years.
Officials at Tel Hashomer hospital near Tel Aviv, where Sharon was being treated for most of the past eight years, announced a week ago that Sharon’s health had deteriorated sharply and that he was in “grave condition” with his family at his bedside.
Sharon first had a small stroke in December 2005 and was put on blood thinners before experiencing a severe brain hemorrhage on January 4, 2006.
LOOK: PHOTO ALBUM: The Life And Career Of Ariel Sharon (1928 – 2013)
After spending months in the Jerusalem hospital where he was initially treated, Sharon was transferred to the long-term care facility at Tel Hashomer hospital.
He was taken home briefly at one point but returned to the hospital, where he has remained since.
