Comatose Sharon opens eyes

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon opened his eyes twice yesterday after family members played a tape of his grandson's voice, aides said, raising hopes the 77-year-old stroke victim may be emerging from a coma.

But Hadassah hospital, where Mr Sharon has been treated since suffering a massive stroke on January 4, said relatives observed "eyelid movements" whose medical significance was unclear.

"(Sharon's son) Gilad brought in a cassette with the voice of Rotem, his eldest grandson, speaking to him, and he opened his eyes twice, each time for two or three minutes," one aide said.

"They believe it was so short because he is still fuzzy from anaesthesia yesterday," the aide said, referring to the tracheotomy, the insertion of a tube into Mr Sharon's windpipe to help him breathe, that surgeons performed on Sunday.

"But the doctors didn't see it, so it is hard to determine whether it is serious or whether they are just getting their hopes up."

Mr Sharon is not expected to return to political life, but some medical experts said the eye movement could be a positive sign that he may emerge from the coma if he shows repeated responses to such stimuli.

In another sign Israel is moving quickly to fill the political vacuum left by Mr Sharon, his new Kadima party named interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as acting chairman to lead it into a March 28 general election.

Mr Olmert, 60, has stepped firmly into the former general's shoes as the old soldier fades away from the political scene he had dominated as Prime Minister since 2001.

In a new test of Mr Olmert's leadership, Jewish settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron set fire to Palestinian property as part of a protest over a planned eviction of settlers from several Palestinian shops. Hundreds of settlers have clashed with Israeli security forces in the city since last week. Settlers torched six abandoned Palestinian shops yesterday, witnesses said.