Arafat's ailment 'curable'
2004-10-31 14:39
Paris - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who is undergoing tests at a military hospital outside Paris, does not have a life-threatening illness and his condition is "curable", one of his senior advisors said on Sunday.
"I can assure you that he is not suffering from leukemia or any serious problem. His situation is curable, and we hope that he will recover soon," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.
Arafat, 75, was flown to Paris on Friday aboard a French government jet to receive treatment after collapsing in his West Bank headquarters.
The ailing Palestinian leader was undergoing a battery of tests at the Percy military hospital in the southwestern Paris suburb of Clamart to determine the nature of a blood disorder.
"His condition is better than expected," Abu Rudeina added.
When asked about the nature of Arafat's illness, the advisor replied: "I am not a doctor, but all options are being considered including poisoning. It is up to the French doctors. He is under the full control of the French doctors."
- AFP