Arafat in a 'critical condition'
2004-11-04 17:40
Paris - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was on Thursday in a "critical condition" in the Paris military hospital treating him for an undiagnosed blood ailment, his main advisor,
Nabil Abu Rudeina, said.
"He is in a critical and serious condition, but he is not in a coma," Abu Rudeina told journalists.
Israeli forces in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were placed on a state of alert on Thursday following the reported deterioration in Arafat's health, security sources said.
There have been conflicting reports This about the 75-year-old leader's health.
Prime minister Ahmed Qorei said in Ramallah that Arafat was not in a coma and that new test results by his doctors in France were "positive".
Earlier reports from French medical sources said that he was in an "extremely bad state".
They added that he was on life support at the Percy military hospital in Clamart, southwest of Paris.
Qorei denied this.
Meanwhile it's reported that French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday went to see Arafat.
He went to the Percy hospital to wish Arafat a return to health, the president's office said.
- AFP