Former Israeli PM Sharon's health deteriorates

File photo of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005.[Photo/Agencies]

JERUSALEM -- A severe deterioration in the condition of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since 2006, was reported by Israeli media outlets on Wednesday.

The former prime minister, 85 years old, has been kept on life support in a hospital in central Israel for the past eight years and apparently suffered kidney failure now which could very well lead to a multi-system organ failure and death, Channel 10 news reported.

Sharon orchestrated Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip enclave in 2005. But in December of the same year, he suffered a minor stroke, while presiding as Israel's Prime Minister.

On January 4, 2006, Sharon suffered another severe stroke. After receiving emergency treatment, he slipped into a coma and was replaced then by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from his center- left Kadima party.