MOSCOW, January 5 (RIA Novosti, Olga Lipich) - The situation in the Middle East will worsen if Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon leaves politics, Russia's chief Rabbi Adolf Shayevich (National Congress of Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations) said Thursday.
"Although Sharon had a lot of enemies even in Israel, especially with the withdrawal of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip, I believe he had a definite plan for the settlement of the situation with Palestine," Shayevich said.
He described Sharon as a prominent figure in politics who had made a significant contribution to the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Sharon was hospitalized Wednesday night after a massive stroke. On Thursday he was transferred to an intensive care unit following a seven-hour surgery to stop bleeding in his brain.
