CAIRO, Jan. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Arab media on Friday expressed concerns about a grave impact that a possible death of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon might bring about on the Mideast peace process.

   "The political landscape in Israel and the entire Middle East region is facing an uncertain future as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon battles for his life," read a story published on the Middle East Online website.

   "His precarious state of health raised deep concerns about the future of Middle East peace-making with the Palestinians," it added.

   Sharon, 77, was rushed to hospital late Wednesday after suffering a massive stroke, and he remained in critical but stable condition after undergoing a third surgery to stem bleeding in his brain on Friday.

   Doctors said Sharon would remain in a medically induced coma until Sunday at least to give him time to heal, but few people at this moment would expect the Israeli leader to be able to return to office.

   Several Arab analysts were apparently concerned about any impact that Sharon's possible death might have on the Mideast peace process, despite the fact that many of their fellow people reviled the Israeli leader for his hardline policy toward the Palestinians.

   "We don't talk about him (Sharon) as a peace maker," said Emad Jadd, an analyst with the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Strategic Studies Center, in an interview with the Gulf News.

   "We fear the consequences of alternatives to Sharon," said Jadd, adding that "the alternative is the Likud headed by (Binyamin) Netanyahu and this will push the region back to square one."

   Jadd said that Netanyahu might "use the unstable security situation and the Palestinian divisions to reoccupy Palestinian lands."

   Concerns about an even more hawkish Israeli government in post-Sharon era were also echoed by Egypt's official Al-Akhbar daily.

   "If Sharon dies, Netanyahu will most probably come to power (in the March 28 elections) and we all know that he represents the most extremist wing in Likud," the Arabic-language daily said in an editorial.

   The newspaper described Netanyahu as a leader "hostile to peace and pursuit of the peace process."

   Most Arab governments have largely kept silent on Sharon's health so far, but a sense of uneasiness about the future of the Mideast peace process in case of Sharon's death was sensible.

   Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Friday called acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and wished speedy recovery for Sharon, Olmert's aide said.

   Mubarak said he is looking forward to continued cooperation with Israel, said Olmert's spokeswoman Haya Perry.

   Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has maintained an active mediation role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts.

   Mubarak helped broker a landmark ceasefire agreement between the Palestinians and Israel on Feb. 8, 2005 at a high-profile summit between Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

   The Egyptian leader has once said he believed that Sharon was the only Israeli who was "willing and able" to achieve peace with the Palestinians. Enditem