Doctors will take off a respirator that has been helping Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon breathe by the end of the weekend, a senior aide of Sharon said on Friday.

"They're going to remove all the respiratory systems," said Ra'anan Gissin,

"He's going to be able to breathe alone at the end of the weekend," although Sharon shows no sign of gaining consciousness,Gissin added.

The respirator was used as a back-up after Sharon came to breathe independently last week, Gissin said, adding that he knew no new signs that Sharon was emerging from coma."Now it's the question of getting out of the coma," the top aide said.

"It's something that could happen overnight. It can happen after a few weeks. Nobody knows," Gissin said.

The 77-year-old Sharon, who suffered a massive stroke on Jan. 4,remains in critical but stable condition on Friday.

Sharon underwent a successful tracheotomy earlier this week in an effort to help wean him off respiratory machines for the long haul.

Relatives said that he briefly opened his eyes on Monday, but medical experts said such eyelid movements could not be viewed assigns of gaining consciousness.

A spokeswoman of Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital where Sharon has been treated said that she could not confirm that the prime minister would be taken off a respirator.

The sudden illness of Sharon, who was viewed as the best chancefor peace with the Palestinians after his successful Gaza pullout last summer, casts a shadow over the Middle East peace prospects and the upcoming Israeli general elections due on March 28.