Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been hospitalised in Jerusalem after suffering a minor stroke.
Aides said Mr Sharon felt unwell after finishing a series of meetings at his Jerusalem office. He was taken Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem's Ein Karem quarter for tests.
His condition is described as stable and improving but the Israeli leader is expected to remain in hospital for several days.
His two sons, Omri and Gilad, arrived at the hospital around an hour after the Prime Minister was admitted. His wife Lily died of cancer five years ago while his first spouse, Lily's younger sister Margalith, died in a car crash in 1962.
Mr Sharon, 77, has led the most dramatic turnaround in Israeli politics for decades after withdrawing Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.
He later broke with the Likud party he helped found, saying he wanted to pursue peacemaking with the Palestinians. He formed a new party called Kadima and was hoping to be re-elected in a 28 March poll.
Mr Sharon had occasionally looked drawn during the months of struggling to push through his plans, but there had been no major health scares.
Born in British-mandate Palestine in 1928, he began his military career at the age of 17 and first came to prominence on the battlefield in Israel's wars against Arab states such as Egypt.
The Arab world still reviles Sharon for masterminding the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, during which Israel's Lebanese Christian allies massacred Palestinians in two refugee camps.
He was forced to resign as defence minister after an Israeli inquiry found him indirectly responsible for failing to foresee and prevent the killings.
Despite this he slowly rebuilt his reputation before becoming leader of Likud in 2000. The former general has been Israeli Prime Minister since 2001.
