Arafat disorder may be fatal
2004-10-28 17:45
Ramallah - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is suffering from a potentially fatal blood disorder which will require more tests outside the West Bank to determine the cause, one of the doctors treating him said Thursday.
"His blood cells which should normally destroy microbes are currently destroying blood platelets," the doctor said on condition of anonymity.
The disorder could have been triggered "by an inflammation caused by a virus, a cancer or blood poisoning," he told reporters.
The supplemtary tests could not be conducted in Arafat's West Bank headquarters where he is currently being treated, he added.
"The doctors think that he must be transferred abroad for further examinations in order to receive the care needed for he could die if the condition persists."
Arafat has been effectively confined to his West Bank headquarters by Israeli troops for nearly three years.
However the Israeli government has said that it will authorise him to leave his so-called Muqataa base to receive treatment wherever he wants.
- AFP