RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Four of Yasser Arafat`s top lieutenants headed to Paris to visit the ailing Palestinian leader despite bitter accusations by his wife that they were planning a deathbed coup.
Prime minister Ahmed Qorei, acting Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chief Mahmud Abbas and foreign minister Nabil Shaath had initially scrapped the plans to visit Arafat after the outburst of Suha Arafat.
But they later decided that they would go ahead with the visit, and were joined by the speaker of parliament Rawhi Fattuh.
"We hope to be able to see him (Arafat) and to get real information," Shaath told AFP before the group headed to Amman where they took a flight to Paris.
In Paris, the health department of the French armed forces said that Arafat was in "stable condition" but that doctors have limited bedside visits.
The departure of the five means that the five most senior members of the leadership are out of the country at arguably the most delicate moment in Palestinian politics for half a century.
Palestinian officials struggled to contain their anger over Suha`s comments, made in an emotional interview on the Al-Jazeera television network.
"A handful of (people) seeking to inherit power are coming to Paris to try and bury Abu Ammar (Arafat) alive. I ask you to look at the extent of the plot," she said.
The head of Arafat`s office, Tayeb Abdelrahim, said the Palestinian leadership was "astonished" by her comments.
"Arafat is not owned by a small family. He is for all the Palestinian people and we pray to God that he comes back safe to achieve his dream of a Palestinian state," he added in a press conference outside Arafat`s Muqataa leadership compound.
"Nobody can prevent the leadership from inquiring about the health of the president."
Fattuh also demanded that Suha "apologise to the Palestinian people" while the head of the PLO`s politburo Faruq Qaddumi denounced her "illogical declarations".
In Arafat`s absence, Abbas has been at the helm of the PLO while Qorei has been in overall charge of the Palestinian Authority.
It was not immediately clear however who would be officially in charge while the four-man delegation was in France, where the Palestinians will meet Tuesday with President Jacques Chirac.
Asked by AFP who would be in charge, negotiations minister Saeb Erakat laughed: "What about me?"
Palestinian officials have privately expressed exasperation about the lack of information they were receiving about the health of Arafat. Suha is one of only a handful of people who have been authorised to see the 75-year-old head of the Palestinian Authority in the last 10 days.
Minimal updates on Arafat`s condition have been released in recent days, with Palestinian and French medical officials saying that he remains critically ill in a coma but in a stable condition.
Israel has also been carefully monitoring Arafat`s fight for life, aware that a change in the Palestinian leadership could have a dramatic impact on the moribund peace process.
The government has refused all contacts with Arafat since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to power in 2001, while US President George W. Bush has also snubbed the man who has led the struggle for a Palestinian state for the better part of half a century.
Both Abbas and Qorei are seen as more moderate figures, and Abbas was a guest of both Sharon and Bush during his brief tenure as prime minister in 2003.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Monday that his government was ready to work with a more moderate leadership.
"Israel hopes the Palestinian people will be led by a responsible leader who will fight terror and allow us to return to dialogue and negotiations for peace. If such a partner emerges, we will be there," Shalom said on a visit to China.
His comments were echoed by Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz who predicted that the emergence of a new moderate leadership was on the horizon.
"In the light of the developments that are unfolding before our eyes, I cannot rule out the possibility of seeing a new and pragmatic leadership emerging in the Palestinian camp in the next few months," Mofaz said.
Israel "could open a dialogue with such a leadership," he added.
Shalom repeated Israel`s stance that it would not accede to Arafat`s wish to be buried in Jerusalem, the Palestinians` choice for the capital of their promised future state.
"We are not going to give them the opportunity to bury him in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a part of Israel," he said.
"To bury him in Gaza, that would be the best place for him if he should die."

11/08/2004 - 17:45 GMT - AFP