Powell wishes Arafat well
2004-10-31 15:30
Ramallah - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who is suffering from a serious illness, has eaten his first meal since checking into a Paris hospital three days ago, foreign minister Nabil Shaath said on Sunday.
"I have received news from Paris that the president has taken his first meal of cornflakes, tea and milk.
"He is alright, he retained it well," Shaath told journalists in the West Bank city of Ramallah where an emergency session of parliament was taking place.
"They (his doctors) are absolutely clear that there are no tumours, no leukaemia lymphoma or any other type of tumour," he said.
Instead, doctors were conducting further tests to discover why Arafat's intestines and stomach had been inflamed for 15 days, the minister added.
Shaath also called on the Palestinians to continue to show a united front.
"The Palestinian people disappointed all those who thought that chaos will prevail the minute Arafat left and they have showed that they are united," Shaath said.
He added that US Secretary of State Colin Powell had telephoned him to say he was glad that Arafat was receiving the medical attention he needed.
Powell also said he was glad that Israel has guaranteed that Arafat can return to his Ramallah headquarters once he is well enough.
Speaking to journalists ahead of an earlier national security council meeting, Shaath said only Arafat's wife Suha and Palestinian representative in France, Laila Rashid can see the 75-year-old leader.
"His mood is cheerful, more lively, less tired and we are awaiting the final assessment by his doctors on their diagnosis.
- SAPA