Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, comatose since a 2006 stroke, has deteriorated to a "life threatening" condition after suffering kidney malfunction, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.
Hospital officials did not answer telephones and a Health Ministry spokeswoman declined to comment.
Sharon was known for executing a dramatic political about face with a 2005 Gaza pullout that turned Israeli politics on its head when he quit his party and created a centrist faction that ruled Israel for several years.
Israel's Channel 2 television said Sharon's sons were at his bed side.
