Palestinian officials said here Monday that the health of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is "stable" and that they are "more confident" of an improvement in his condition.

"The president's condition is stable and good. He is still receiving treatment," Arafat's senior advisor Nabil Abu Rudeina told French TF1 TV.

Although attempts to discover the cause of Arafat's illness began at France's Percy military hospital on Friday, the results will not be released before Wednesday, Rudeina said, adding that "we are assured he is not suffering from any kind of cancer."

Palestinian representative in Paris, Leila Shahid, announced Sunday that Arafat does not have leukemia.

Arafat flew to Paris Friday from his headquarters in Ramallah where he had been confined since December 2001.