Former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, has said that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's health conditions were improving.

Abbas told reporters Sunday evening that he had phone talks with Arafat on Sunday and learnt that there was improvement in Arafat's conditions.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Rashid, Arafat's economic adviser, said that Arafat got up and even prayed and read the Koran on Sunday, adding that results of physical examinations will be revealed on Wednesday.

Palestinian sources in Paris said that Arafat met Sunday for the first time with some of Palestinian officials who accompanied him on the treatment trip to France, a clear indication that his health is improving.

PLO's representative in Paris, Leila Shahid, said that Arafat ate soft food for the first time, adding that the nature of his illness still unclear, since the results of many of tests performed on him have not yet come out, "as the laboratories do not work over the weekend."

Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad said that Arafat had a five-minute phone call to Ramallah. "This phone call is clear proof that President Arafat is fully aware of what is going on around him," Fayyad said.

Arafat's top aide Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that the latest tests have found that President Arafat does not suffer from any life-threatening illness.