Sharon in critical but stable condition
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-13 07:35

Despite Sharon's illness, his new, centrist Kadima Party, with Olmert at the helm, appears poised to win Israel's March 28 election. Polls show Kadima receiving twice as many seats in the 120-member Israeli parliament as its nearest rivals.

The obese Sharon had brushed aside repeated questions about his health until he suffered a mild stroke on Dec. 18 at the height of his popularity.

Sharon, a war hero to Israelis, had for years opposed concessions to the Palestinians. He came to accept the idea of giving up land and allowing them to form a state only during his most recent term as prime minister, which began in 2003.

After last summer's successful pullout from the Gaza Strip and his break with the hard-line Likud Party, Sharon was widely expected to draw Israel's final borders with or without Palestinian assent if elected for a third term.

Speaking to Kadima members Sunday night, Olmert praised Sharon's "greatness" in following through with the Gaza pullout in the face of strong opposition.

"He came up with the initiative, took the responsibility, marked the goals, took the risks and won thanks for all that," Olmert said. "We will continue this way."

Aides played down Sharon's health problems even after the mild stroke. Doctors treated the prime minister with anti-clotting agents and scheduled a heart procedure for Jan. 5 to close a hole believed to have contributed to that first stroke. Sharon suffered a massive stroke and slipped into the coma hours before the operation.

In a TV interview earlier this week, his first since taking over, Olmert suggested he would withdraw from large areas of the West Bank if elected. He did not make clear whether he would act unilaterally. Olmert said Israel will give up the parts of the West Bank where most of the Palestinians live but retain main Jewish settlement blocs.

The Palestinians claim the West Bank as part of a future independent state.

Unilateral Israeli action appears increasingly likely considering the victory of the Islamic militant group Hamas in last month's Palestinian parliamentary elections. Olmert has said Israel will shun a Hamas government unless the group — considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe — renounces violence and recognizes Israel.