JERUSALEM, Jan. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was in critical condition following a lengthy surgery on Thursday, was not in a vegetative state as his brain and heart were functioning, Israel's Channel 2 TV reported.

   The channel cited an official at Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital where Sharon remained in the intensive care unit as saying that Sharon was not in a vegetative state and that he was able to respond to stimulation.

   No further details were revealed by the report.

   The 77-year-old Sharon was under sedation after a seven-hour-long surgery to halt a cerebral blooding earlier in the day.

   The veteran Israeli politician's grave illness has cast uncertainty over the coming Israeli general elections slated for March 28 and the Mideast peace process. Enditem