CLAMART, France (AFP) - Confusion surrounded the health of ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as reports swirled of his death at a French military hospital only to be swiftly denied.
The hospital at Clamart, outside Paris, announced a sudden deterioration in his health, saying he had slipped into a deeper coma, just before a delegation of senior Palestinian figures spent two and a half hours visiting him.
A member of the Palestinian cabinet in Ramallah told AFP on condition of anonymity that Arafat had died but that no decision had been made to make the official announcement.
However in Paris a spokesman for the army medical service treating Arafat said that he was still alive at 3:30 p.m. (1430 GMT), and two members of his entourage, UN delegate Nasser el-Qidwa and the representative in France Leila Shahid, also denied he was dead.
The confusion followed the visit by four top Palestinian figures -- prime minister Ahmed Qorei, acting Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chief Mahmud Abbas, foreign minister Nabil Shaath and parliamentary speaker Rawhi Fattuh -- to the Percy military hospital in Clamart.
Qorei and Abbas both spent time at Arafat`s sickbed.
After the visit Abbas said: "His situation is serious. Sadly it is very serious. We saw all the doctors."
A short while later, the Palestinian cabinet minister in Ramallah said that "for sure he is dead," adding: "It`s a question of how and when to announce it. It (an announcement) will be most likely made tonight."
A senior Palestinian official also told AFP from France that Arafat had passed away, saying the official announcement was just hours away.
However, Shaath told CNN that Arafat was still alive.
"His coma has deepened but he is fully alive," Shaath said. "His brain, heart and lungs, his vital organs still functioning."
And an official at the army medical service said that, "the statement made public by General Christian Estripeau is still valid at 3:30 pm."
Estripeau, the medical service`s official spokesman, said earlier Tuesday that Arafat had deteriorated overnight and slipped into a "deeper coma."
The Palestinian delegation later left the hospital for a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac. Earlier they saw Foreign Minister Michel Barnier for what were described as "political" talks.
The arrival of the four leaders in Paris came against the background of a bitter quarrel with Suha Arafat, who has used France`s strict privacy laws to control access to her husband and severely limit information about his health.
On Monday Suha made an emotional outburst on Al-Jazeera television urging the delegation to stay away and accusing them of "coming to Paris to try and bury Abu Ammar (Arafat`s nom de guerre)."
Palestinian officials said they were astonished by Suha`s remarks, which drew widespread criticism in the West Bank and Gaza. Arafat`s wife is not a popular figure in the Palestinian territories, where she is accused of having led a privileged lifestyle in Paris instead of sharing her husband`s ordeal.
"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," said the head of Arafat`s office Tayeb Abdelrahim.
"Nobody can prevent the leadership from inquiring about the health of the president," he said.
In Israel there was widespread speculation that the fuss over the visit was also linked to the question of access to Arafat`s personal fortune, with the Palestinian leadership anxious that Suha does not have a controlling hand.
"Arafat has enormous sums of money at his disposal, and any difficulties with respect to a leadership transition in the Palestinian camp are related to that money," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Arafat was airlifted from his headquarters in Ramallah on October 29 and flown to Paris, where doctors are trying to diagnose a mysterious blood disorder. His condition deteriorated suddenly last Wednesday when he slipped into a coma and was admitted to intensive care.
Cautious hopes have been expressed that Arafat`s departure from the scene will create an opening in the moribund Middle East peace process, especially if newly-reelected US President George W. Bush decides to re-invest political energy in the problem.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was "impressed by the manner in which the Palestinian leaders back in the territories have been discussing among themselves and how they move forward ... A lot depends on what (Palestinian) leadership will emerge eventually."
11/09/2004 - 15:35 GMT - AFP