US: US television evangelist Pat Robertson has suggested that the severe illness of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon is God's judgment on him.
Speaking on his Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club, Mr Robertson said God was punishing Mr Sharon for dividing the land of Israel, seen as a reference to the Israeli leader's insistence on evicting settlers from Gaza and parts of the West Bank.
"Sharon was personally a very likable person, and I am sad to see him in this condition, but I think we need to look at the Bible and the Book of Joel," Mr Robertson (75) said. "The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who 'divide my land'."
The evangelist, who ran for the presidency in 1988, has a history of controversial statements. In August he called for the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, then denied the remark and a day later, apologised for it.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said Mr Robertson's latest comments violated "simple human decency" and were "profoundly offensive".
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said it was "outrageous and shocking, but not surprising, that Pat Robertson once again has suggested that God will punish Israel's leaders for any decision to give up land to the Palestinians. His remarks are un-Christian and a perversion of religion." - (Los Angeles Times-Washington Post service)