Former NATO and EU senior leader Javier Solana apologizes for spreading a false rumor Monday that Ariel Sharon had died.
Someone in Israel sent a Twitter message that the former prime minister had passed away, and journalists scrambled to write an obituary for the ailing Sharon, who has been comatose for nearly five years.
Arutz Sheva held off publishing the report until it could be confirmed even though both Solana and a trusted source in Israel relayed the rumor.
Solana, former secretary-general of NATO and former European Union representative for foreign policy, apologized for his mistake, explaining he had relied on a contact in Israel.
Sharon was Prime Minister from 2001-2006. Now 83, he suffered a massive stroke that left Ehud Olmert as Israel’s leader.
He has been comatose since January 2006, but his son Gilad said last month, while promoting his new book, that when his father was awake, “He looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to.” Mr. Sharon said in a telephone interview: "I am sure he hears me."