![Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (R), escorted by an Israeli soldier working at the Alenbey Bridge crossing point between Israel and Jordan, as he leaves the V.I.P terminal on his way to Paris November 8, 2004. Palestinian leaders headed for Paris to see critically ill President Yasser Arafat at a French military hospital despite a scathing attack by his wife who accused them of plotting to "bury him alive". Amid an increasingly bitter row over Arafat's fate, Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and PLO Secretary General Mahmoud Abbas were on route to Jordan, from where they planned to fly to France aboard a private jet. [Reuters]](xin_381101090937865177695.jpg)
Palestinian Prime
Minister Ahmed Qurei (R), escorted by an Israeli soldier working at the
Alenbey Bridge crossing point between Israel and Jordan, as he leaves the
V.I.P terminal on his way to Paris November 8, 2004. Palestinian leaders
headed for Paris to see critically ill President Yasser Arafat at a French
military hospital despite a scathing attack by his wife who accused them
of plotting to "bury him alive". Amid an increasingly bitter row over
Arafat's fate, Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath
and PLO Secretary General Mahmoud Abbas were on route to Jordan, from
where they planned to fly to France aboard a private jet.
[Reuters] |
Confirming that 75-year-old Palestinian leader was
in a coma, the hospital's chief doctor said Arafat's health had worsened
considerably. He spoke of a "reserved prognosis" for Arafat, a discreet phrase
meaning a patient is close to death.
The delegation including Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie, Foreign Minister Nabil
Shaath and Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary General Mahmoud Abbas
arrived at the hospital after France hinted it was losing patience with the
visit dispute.
Arafat's wife, Suha, has kept tight control over access to and information
about her husband. The hospital statement was the first confirming he was in a
coma, while Palestinian officials have been saying so for days.
"The state of health of President Arafat worsened during the night," chief
doctor Christian Estripeau said outside Percy military hospital in a
southwestern suburb of Paris.
"The comatose state that led to his admission into intensive care is deeper
this morning. That marks a significant step toward an evolution which cannot yet
be determined," he said.
Estripeau gave no further information but a Palestinian official told
Reuters: "Day by day, his organs are functioning on stop-and-go. He's
deteriorating by the day. He has not come out of coma since Wednesday. It's a
matter of time."
The hospital issued its statement as senior Palestinian officials headed for
a showdown with Suha Arafat over the secrecy she has imposed around her
husband's health.
French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier increased pressure on her to allow a
visit by noting President Jacques Chirac had visited her husband last week.
"These are old friends of Yasser Arafat," he told France 2 television. "I
think it's simply natural that, in accordance with her, they can meet Yasser
Arafat."
CONTROL OVER INFORMATION
Suha Arafat, 41, who is widely criticized by Palestinians for living in a
smart area of Paris while they suffer violence at home, has hunkered down behind
French privacy laws giving her control over information on her husband's health.
"Suha still opposes releasing information to the Palestinian leaders on
Arafat's health and has said she will not allow them to visit Arafat in the
hospital," a Palestinian official said. "She believes they are in Paris to strip
Arafat of his powers."
The hospital has ruled out leukemia but not given any diagnosis of Arafat's
illness. Palestinian officials say he is suffering from liver failure.
The struggle between the Palestinian leadership and the woman Arafat married
late in life has set off a series of rumors about the reasons for her
intransigence.
One concerns bank accounts she holds in France with transfers totaling 9
million euros ($11.5 million). She has denied charges these funds were
improperly diverted from Palestinian coffers in recent years.
Asked about these charges, Barnier said bigger issues were at stake and
added: "I don't know what's true in all that."
Palestinian officials say she may want to take revenge on Abbas, who opposed
her marriage to Arafat in 1992 and prevented her from accompanying her husband
to the White House for the signing of the Oslo peace accords the following year.
All three leaders are potential successors and Arafat's wife has accused them
of wanting to "bury him alive." Shaath has said the delegation wanted to get the
full facts on Arafat.
PRAISE FOR PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP
Despite the bickering, Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday he was
impressed by the Palestinian leaders' handling of Arafat's absence and said he
hoped the "relative calm" in the region would continue.
"I hope that sense of quiet and calm can be maintained and (that) it gives us
something to work with," Powell told reporters on the way to Mexico. He
reiterated that the United States was "ready to engage as soon as it is
appropriate to engage" with the so-called road map peace plan.
