The effects of the medication are expected to wear off within 36 hours, at which point doctors will be able to assess further any neurological improvement.

In fact, the hospital has been gradually reducing the level of sedatives since Monday to wake him from medically induced coma.

Sharon moved his left arm on Tuesday for the first time since he suffered a massive stroke and brain hemorrhage last Wednesday.

The damage to Sharon's brain is believed to be concentrated in the right hemisphere which control the left side of his body.

In addition, the movements of Sharon's right arm and leg were more intense than in a test to check his response to pain on Monday, hospital director Shlomo Mor-Yosef told reporters Tuesday evening.

"The prime minister's condition is serious but there is no immediate danger to the prime minister's life," said Sharon's anaesthetist Yoram Weiss.