"I can assure (you) that there is no brain death ... He is in a coma, we don't know the type but it's a reversible coma," Shahid told the private French radio station RTL.

However, she admitted that Arafat "is at a critical juncture between life and death."

There have been conflicting reports about the fate of the 75-year-old Palestinian leader who was airlifted to a military hospital near Paris a week ago.

French and Israeli media reported Thursday Arafat had died, but both French medical officials and Palestinian officials have denied the reports.