Arafat has liver failure-Aide

11/7/2004 8:50:00 PM GMT

A Palestinian official, who demanded anonymity, said on Sunday that the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is suffering liver failure and that his health condition was not improving.

"He has liver failure. His condition is not improving," said the official.

The official added that Palestinian officials were considering moving the Palestinian leader to a hospital in Cairo, from where he could be taken back home more quickly if he died.

However, the official added that any decision to move Arafat could be taken only by the Palestinian leadership.

He said a low count of platelets, which help the blood clot, meant blood transfusions were proving difficult.

Doctors at the French hospital have previoulsy ruled out leukemia but couldn’t determine what caused the sudden deterioration in Arafat's health last week.

Earlier Arafat’s senior aide said that the Palestinian President was not in a coma yet is still in the intensive care unit after he has undergone several medical tests.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, Arafat's spokesman, didn’t elaborate on his statement and didn’t say whether his remarks meant that the Palestinian leader has emerged from a coma or hadn’t lapsed into a coma at all.

He, moreover, refused to say whether he saw Arafat personally or not. Abu Rdeneh also did not specify what kind of the new medical tests has Arafat undergone.

"He is not in a coma," Abu Rdeneh told reporters after coming out of Paris military hospital where Arafat is getting treated. "He is still in the intensive care unit.

Earlier, hospital spokesman Gen. Christian Estripeau said that Arafat's health condition hasn’t changed since Friday. He said there had been no change — for better or worse — in his health.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia has made a visit to the Gaza Strip to hold talks with rival Palestinian groups.

Qureia met with representatives of the 13 main Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Jihad, as well as security chiefs, lawmakers and officials from Arafat's Fatah movement.

Parliament Speaker Rauhi Fattouh, who would step in as a caretaker president of the Palestinian Authority if Arafat dies, accompanied Qureia in his talks.

On Sunday, an Israeli newspaper said that Qureia asked Hamas to end its operations inside Israel to forestall Israeli retaliations and give a chance to a new Palestinian leadership to establish itself.

Dozens of Arafat supporters gathered in front of the hospital outside Paris, where the Palestinian leader, was getting treated to show their support.

They were chanting "Palestine Lives!" and held portraits of Arafat and Palestinian flags.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath denied on Friday that Arafat was clinically dead or on a life-support system. However, he said that Arafat's condition was not improving.

Last weekend, the ailing Palestinian leader flew France, to get the needed medical treatment at a French Army teaching hospital southwest of Paris, specialized in blood disorders and trauma care.

Arafat’s health has been deteriorating over the past two weeks, his aids reported that he was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea. But last Wednesday he started briefly losing consciousness.

At first, low blood platelet count raised fears of leukemia, but Palestinian officials said that doctors have ruled out all forms of cancer.

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