The condition of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat deteriorated overnight and he is now in a deeper coma, the spokesperson for the French army medical service said on Tuesday.
“The state of health of President Yasser Arafat deteriorated in the night of November 8 to 9 2004. The state of coma which led to his admission to the intensive-care unit became deeper this morning,” said Christian Estripeau.
“This marks a significant step towards a development whose prognosis is doubtful,” he said.
The 75-year-old Palestinian figurehead is being treated at the Percy military hospital in the Paris suburb of Clamart where he was admitted 10 days ago suffering from a blood disorder.
Palestinian delegation in Paris
Meanwhile, reports Ezzedine Said in France, a delegation of four top Palestinians was set to visit Arafat in his Paris hospital on Tuesday, overriding objections from his wife, Suha, who has accused them of wanting to hasten her husband’s death.
Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia, acting Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chief Mahmud Abbas, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and parliamentary Speaker Rawhi Fattuh arrived in Paris on Monday evening with the aim of determining for themselves the state of Arafat’s health.
The delegation was first due to see French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier for what were described as “political” talks, and in the afternoon they had an appointment with President Jacques Chirac. A press conference was expected at 6pm (5pm GMT).
The Palestinian representative in Paris, Leila Shahid, confirmed that the four will see Arafat, though she did not say when.
The visit came against the background of a bitter quarrel with Suha Arafat, who has availed herself of France’s strict privacy laws to control access to her husband’s sick bed and severely limit information about his state of health.
The row broke out when Suha made an emotional appearance 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]. I ask you to look at the extent of the plot.”
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.
“She has personal demands, she seeks personal privileges, there is no other explanation,” said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the PLO’s executive committee.
“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.
Speculation about fortune
In Israel, there was widespread speculation that the visit of the delegation was also linked to the question of access to Arafat’s personal fortune when he dies, 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.
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 re-elected United States President George Bush decides to reinvest 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.” — Sapa-AFP
Wife locks horns with leadership