A senior Palestinian official said Friday that the health conditions of
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are stable and he doesn't suffer from any
clinical or brain death.
Arafat had only suffered from a short coma, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, chief of staff
of Arafat's bureau in Ramallah told the Saudi-Arabia Satellite TV channel.
He said that the French doctors found out that President Arafat doesn't
suffer from any serious disease, and they had checked every organ in his body
and are trying to solve the problem in his blood, especially the reason of
breaking the blood vessels.
Earlier reports said that Arafat, who is treated at Percy Military Training
Hospital in Clamart outside Paris, is in a severe coma and in a status of
clinical death.
"All reports that President Arafat in clinical death are untrue and not
accurate," said Abdel Rahim Abdel in an earlier statement before reporters
Ramallah.
He added in the statement that "the Palestinian leadership is following in
concerns and moment after moment the situation."
The Palestinian officials are in direct contact with the French doctors and
the medical team that is treating Arafat in the hospital "as well as with the
officials who are accompanying Arafat in France," said Abdel Rahim.
"We call upon our people to stop listening and following rumors published by
the media about President's Arafat's health," he said,adding "all of us should
pray for his quick recovery."