Former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres is in severe but stable condition, and he has improved in the 24 hours after his stroke, Dr. Yitzhak Kreiss, head of the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, said in a news conference Wednesday.
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Peres has held almost every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister.
Former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres’ condition has improved somewhat a day after his stroke, and he was able to shake his son-in-law’s hand as physicians reduced his level of sedation, doctors said Wednesday.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian, for their contribution to the Oslo Accords that were meant to lay the foundations for a resolution Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“When we lessened the sedation, he woke up – not completely but definitely was responsive to our appeals to him”, he told AFP.
“He squeezes the hand and he moves his legs”, he said.
“The fact that he responds is an excellent start, but there are still numerous possibilities for complications related to his hospitalisation in intensive care”, Zeev Feldman, a neurosurgeon involved in his treatment, told Israel’s Channel 2 television. “The positive attention and well wishes that we are receiving help to strengthen the family in these hard times and show that we are not alone”.
Statements of concern flooded in from across the political spectrum and dozens of journalists gathered outside the hospital, Israel’s largest, awaiting word on his condition.
Stoudemire, who describes himself as culturally Jewish and will play on an Israeli basketball team this winter, met Peres during a visit to Israel in 2013.
He twice served as prime minister and was president from 2007 to 2014.
“Shimon, we love you and the entire nation wishes you get well”, Mr Netanyahu said.
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog also wished the elder statesman a rapid recovery. But a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks left Peres struggling to defend the peace process, ultimately costing him the next election.
In January, Peres diagnosed with abnormal heart rhythm while he was being hospitalized for feeling ill.
While in hospital, he suffered a massive stroke in the right side of the brain. He returned to the hospital 10 days later after suffering from an irregular heartbeat.
Peres has sought to maintain an active schedule despite his age, particularly through events related to his Peres Center for Peace.
“I’m so happy to return to work, that was the whole goal of this operation”, he said.
Peres once confided that the secret to his longevity was daily gymnastics, eating little and drinking one or two glasses of good wine.
The Oslo peace accords constituted a historic breakthrough in the conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine.
He became director general of the nascent defence ministry at just 29 years old.
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