Arafat: Leukaemia ruled out

2004-10-30 22:17

Clamart, France - Initial results from a battery of tests on Yasser Arafat found no signs Saturday of leukemia, a Palestinian diplomat said, but blood doctors were still probing the cause of the ailing Palestinian leader's dramatic deterioration in health.

Rushed Friday from the West Bank to a French military hospital, Arafat "spent a very good night" and awoke Saturday "in very good humour, rested," said Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France.

Addressing concerns that Arafat might have the blood and bone marrow cancer, she said, "The doctors exclude, already from what he has done in terms of exams, any possibility of leukemia. I repeat: the doctors exclude for the time being any possibility of leukemia."

Earlier, a Palestinian official who spoke on condition of anonymity had said there was a strong possibility Arafat was suffering from leukemia and that a team of French physicians specialising in the disorder examined the Palestinian leader for a second day Saturday.

Shahid, speaking in three languages to reporters outside the Percy military training hospital southwest of Paris, did not take questions or explain what she meant by "for the time being."

'No sign of a dangerous disease'

In Arabic, she said other tests also have "not shown any sign of other dangerous disease." But, "there are other possibilities and we are still exploring," she added in English.

In Ramallah, where Palestinian officials put on a show of unity to dispel concerns about possible chaos and infighting in Arafat's absence, the Palestinian foreign minister also said initial test results were encouraging.

"The president is in good health. So far, all the tests have been good and have shown no serious problem," said Nabil Shaath as he entered a meeting of the top committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

It was one of the few weekly sessions of the PLO executive committee held over past decades without Arafat presiding. Convened by Arafat's deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, it was held in the Palestinian leader's office in the crumbling compound where he had been confined by Israel for nearly three years until being airlifted to Paris.

Abbas, a former Palestinian prime minister who has feuded with Arafat in the past, declined to sit in Arafat's chair at the head of the conference table.

"There is no vacuum and things will go on as if Arafat is here," said Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat.

- AP