Back from one of the stranger assignments of recent years.

The return flight from Tel Aviv was stuffed full of fellow members of the international press corps who, like me, had been taken off death watch and ordered back to base.

Ariel Sharon proved to be more resilient than any of us expected -- even if his chances of a meaningful recovery are virtually nil.

I'll be returning to the Middle East in a week's time to cover the Palestinian Elections from Ramallah in the West Bank.