Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was fighting for his life on Thursday after suffering a massive stroke, throwing the country into turmoil just weeks before a general election.
Doctors said the 77-year-old Sharon, dubbed "the Bulldozer", is undergoing an emergency surgery to drain blood from his brain after being rushed to hospital on Wednesday night.
Cabinet secretary Israel Maimon said the powers of the premier, who is seeking re-election at an election scheduled for March 28, had been transferred to Finance Minister Ehud Olmert.
"Given that the prime minister requires treatment, I have spoken to the attorney general (Menachem Mazuz) and Deputy Prime Minister Olmert and it has been decided that Mr Olmert will have powers transferred to him," Maimon said.
Sharon was admitted to the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem late on Wednesday after suffering a haemorrage, little more than two weeks after suffering a smaller stroke.
According to the director of the hospital Sharon suffered a "significant stroke" on Wednesday evening.
Sharon was rushed to hospital around 1100 hrs, IST (2100 GMT) just hours before he was due to undergo a procedure to repair a small hole in the heart.
"A significant stroke means that there has been extensive damage," professor Shlomo Moryussef of the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem said.
Moryussef however said that "it does not necessarily mean that there will be a lasting effect."
The 77-year-old was admitted to hospital on December 18 after suffering a minor stroke but was released two days later.
Cabinet secretary Israel Maimon said that Sharon had felt unwell while he was at his ranch in the southern Negev desert and was immediately rushed to hospital.
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