Arafat condition 'extremely serious' after he loses consciousness
Yasser Arafat has lost consciousness repeatedly in recent hours after he was rushed into intensive care at a French military hospital, Palestinians said today. They described his condition as extremely serious.
The officials said they could not immediately confirm French media reports that the 75-year-old Palestinian leader had lapsed into a coma. French hospital and military officials said they could not comment on the ailing leader’s health.
In Israel, the media, citing Israeli intelligence officials, said Arafat suffered organ failure and that he had lost consciousness several times. The Maariv daily newspaper said Arafat’s condition was “very critical”.
French doctors still don’t know the cause of the blood and digestive disorders uncovered over the past few days, the Palestinian officials said, adding that Arafat was undergoing additional tests.
Israel Radio reported that Mahmoud Abbas, No. 2 in the hierarchy of Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation and his first prime minister, was on his way to Paris today to see him.
Yet Arafat’s top aides denied there had been any setback and accused Israel of spreading rumours.
“These unfounded reports are not coming from French medical teams, these are leaks from the Israeli side,” said Mohammed Dahlan, a former Palestinian security chief.
“Leaking such rumours will only complicate things and also complicate the situation within the Palestinian public,” he told reporters in Paris.
Arafat, who has been ill for three weeks, was flown to the French military hospital on Friday after passing out briefly at his west Bank headquarters.
