Peres suffers stroke

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres has been hospitalised after having a stroke.

Peres’ office said in a statement Tuesday evening that the 93-year-old statesman “is stable and fully conscious.”

The office later announced that Peres’ doctors decided to sedate him and put him on a respirator as he undergoes medical treatment. Israel’s Channel 1 reported that his condition was changed to serious.

Peres, 93, was taken to Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer near Tel Aviv after telling his doctor that he felt weak.

The doctor had successfully implanted a pacemaker for Peres a week ago. Peres was diagnosed in July with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm.

In January, Peres had a heart attack and then cardiac angioplasty to open a blocked artery. He was hospitalized twice more with chest pains.

In a statement in front of the medical center, Peres’ son, Chemi, acknowledged to reporters that “in the coming hours, we will have to make decisions,” though he did not specify what those were.

He said that his father “loved, loves, the people of Israel,” and he called on those who were praying for his father to continue to do so.

Hospital head Dr Itzik Kreiss told the media that the statesman suffered bleeding on the brain as a result of the stroke.

Israeli media reported that the president had two CT scans over Tuesday night, which showed no change or improvement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: “I wish former president Shimon Peres speedy recovery. Shimon, we love you, and the entire nation prays for your recovery.”
President Reuven Rivlin commented “I am following with concern the updates from the hospital, and pray together with the entire people for my friend Shimon’s recovery.”

Peres, who retired as president of Israel in 2014 after more than half a century in public life, including a stint as prime minister, won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.

JTA