Egypt might hold a funeral service for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Friday if he dies in the next few hours, a senior aide to Arafat said in Cairo late Wednesday.
Nabil Abu Rudeina, Arafat's senior aide, told reporters upon his arrival from Paris that Arafat's health conditions were "very bad" and many of his organs, except heart and lungs, have failed.
"Should the Palestinian leader die in the coming hours, as his doctors are expecting, there will be an official funeral in Cairo on Friday with the participation of kings, princes and heads of Arab and Islamic states," he said.
He added that the Palestinian leadership has decided to send him and another Palestinian official to Cairo to make funeral arrangements with Egyptian officials.
Arafat, 75, is now seriously ill at a French military hospital and many fear that his final phase of life has come.
Egyptian presidential spokesman Maged Abdul Fattah said Wednesday that Egypt will host a funeral service for the Palestinian leader in case he dies.