MIDDLE EAST: The condition of Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon (77) continued to improve slightly yesterday, but doctors said it remained too early to assess how much damage he had suffered following a massive stroke and brain haemorrhage a week ago.
While efforts to bring Mr Sharon out of a medically induced coma continued, the acting Israeli administration indicated that it would allow Palestinians in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem to vote in this month's parliamentary polls.
Defence minister Shaul Mofaz said yesterday Israel would follow the policy for previous Palestinian elections, when it permitted a small number of East Jerusalem residents to cast ballots in local post offices, while the remainder were forced to vote in outlying suburbs in the occupied West Bank.
Mr Mofaz's announcement, which coincided with a visit by senior US officials backing the Palestinian elections, appeared to resolve a major standoff with Palestinian leaders which had threatened to derail the January 25th elections.
However, in the first sign of governmental disarray in the absence of Mr Sharon's unifying presence, Israel's foreign minister Silvan Shalom later expressed his opposition to the move and said no agreement had been reached.
Palestinian voting in East Jerusalem has been contentious since Israel annexed it and made the city its undivided capital, a move not recognised internationally.
Doctors continued with efforts to revive Mr Sharon from an induced coma, amid further signs of slight improvements in his condition yesterday. In an attempt to stimulate his sense of smell, Israel Radio reported that doctors placed near his bed a lamb shwarma, the Middle Eastern equivalent of a hamburger and one of the prime minister's favourite snacks.
A spokesman for Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Dr Shlomo Mor-Yosef, said last night that Mr Sharon had show further slight signs of recovery, continuing to breathe independently and moving his left arm for the first time, as well as showing more pronounced reaction to pain stimuli in his right leg and arm.
"There is a slight improvement in brain function, but his condition is still severe, critical and stable," Dr Mor-Yosef said.
He denied local media reports that doctors treating Mr Sharon following a minor stroke three weeks ago had exposed him to unnecessary risk of a repeat episode by failing to diagnose an existing brain disease.