RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Teams of top medics were to carry out further bedside tests on ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who was said to be in a critical condition at his West Bank headquarters.
Two teams of medics were due to arrive from Jordan and Egypt after offers from King Abdullah II and President Hosni Mubarak, Arafat`s top aide said.
Israel, which has kept Arafat under virtual house arrest for nearly three years, also said it would allow Arafat to go "wherever he wants for treatment".
While some Palestinians sought to play down the seriousness of his condition, his Paris-based wife Suha is also expected to travel to her husband`s bedside on her first visit to the West Bank for several years.
Arafat`s health has been the subject of speculation after a team of Tunisian medics was sent to the West Bank to carry out tests over the weekend, when Palestinian officials insisted he had nothing more than a severe bout of influenza.
However cabinet secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh confirmed that Arafat`s condition had taken a turn for the worse.
"He has been going through a very slow recovery over the last few days, including the last six hours, and now he is in critical condition," Abu Libdeh told CNN late Wednesday.
Arafat`s chief advisor, Nabil Abu Rudeina, told a scrum of journalists camped outside the bomb-damaged Muqataa headquarters that the Tunisian and locals medics had carried out examinations on Wednesday night and more medics were on their way.
He said Arafat "needs more rest because of his fatigue", adding that his condition was stable.
"The Jordanian and Egyptian doctors will see him tomorrow when president Arafat will receive more treatment. He needs more rest and more treatment but he does not need to go to hospital."
Abu Rudeina also denied reports on Israeli radio that Arafat had lost consciousness at any stage. "Not at all," he told reporters.
Official sources in the Israeli government, wary of being blamed in the event of his death, said that Arafat would be authorised to go "wherever he wants for treatment", including abroad.
Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz gave authorisation for a Jordanian medical team to travel to Ramallah to examine Arafat and he could be transferred to Ramallah hospital if needed, his ministry said.
Abbas Zaki, a lawmaker for Arafat`s Fatah movement, confirmed that his wife, Suha, who lives in Paris, was expected in the Muqataa on Thursday. It would be the couple`s first meeting since Arafat was first confined to his headquarters.
Arafat has been the dominant force in Palestinian politics for some four decades and his desire to cling on to power has meant no obvious successor has been able to emerge.
According to the terms of the Palestinian basic law, parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh would be appointed as head of the Palestinian Authority for a maxium 60-day interim period in the event of Arafat`s death.
A source close to the Palestinian Authority said earlier that Mahmud Abbas, the deputy head of Arafat`s Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and prime minister Ahmed Qorei were also at the leader`s bedside.
Both men would be among the frontrunners to succeed Arafat in the case of his death or incapacitation.
News of the apparent worsening of his condition came just a day after Israeli lawmakers approved Prime Minister Ariel Sharon`s Gaza pullout plan.
Arafat`s departure from the political scene could be leapt on by Sharon`s opponents as an opportunity to derail his unilateral disengagement project.
Sharon, having declared Arafat an absolute obstacle to peace, has argued that he has no option but to pursue unilateral measures.
But critics on his left and right could now push for a delay to see if a new Palestinian leader emerges.
10/28/2004 - 03:03 GMT - AFP