Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s life is no longer in immediate danger and he has shown further signs of recovery from a massive stroke, but it could be days until the extent of brain damage is known, doctors said. “Metaphorically speaking, we have backed five meters away from the edge of the cliff,” Dr. Yoram Weiss, one of Sharon’s anesthetists, told reporters on Tuesday. Israelis anxiously waiting for news on the leader many had seen as their best hope for peace with the Palestinians were buoyed by signs his condition was improving – albeit slowly.

The medical team treating the 77-year-old Sharon is reducing his sedation to try to rouse him from a medically induced coma, so they can check for signs of brain function. Doctors said he moved his left side for the first time on Tuesday. Hadassah hospital director Shlomo Mor-Yosef said that while Sharon was making progress, he remained in severe, critical”condition nearly a week after his stroke. Doctors still do not know how badly his faculties have been impaired, and medical experts say even if he survives he will have little chance of recovering enough to resume his duties.

The loss of Sharon, who raised peace hopes by pulling settlers and troops out of Gaza in September after 38 years of occupation, would deepen uncertainty over the future of Middle East diplomacy. His illness has also halted campaigning for a March 28 general election he had been expected to win. Sharon’s doctors said it would be several days before the sedatives wore off completely and they could start gauging his ability to think and reason. He has yet to open his eyes.

<B>Andrew MARSHALL</B>