News analysis: Is Arafat seriously ill or not?

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, October 10, 2003

News analysis: Is Arafat seriously ill or not?

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Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Chairman Yasser Arafat's gaunt, fragile appearance in recent days has raised a flurry of speculation over the health of the 74-year-old leader, who has been holed up in his badly damaged Ramallah headquarters for almost two years.

Is Arafat seriously ill and his days are numbered as reported by some media, or is he suffering only mild illness and recovering well as announced by his senior aides?

This is a frequently asked question among reporters here, but the answers are conflicting. Visitors to Arafat in the past week noticed that his lip tremor was more pronounced than in the past months, and at times he appeared unfocused and dazed.

Earlier on Monday, Xinhua correspondent noticed that Arafat could hardly eat anything except for drinking some soup while having lunch with a group of peace activists.

Time magazine Thursday on it web site quoted a source inside Arafat's office as saying that a "working diagnosis" showed Arafat has stomach cancer, further fueling the suspicion that the Palestinian leader's health is rapidly deteriorating. A Time correspondent said their source has been "reliable in everything he's given us in the past".

An anonymous Palestinian official, cited by the Egyptian newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on Thursday, also said that Arafat is "suffering from a tumor in the intestines, and he needs an urgent surgical operation to remove the tumor, which might be benign or malignant."

A joint team of Jordanian and Egyptian physicians arrived in Ramallah on Wednesday evening to treat Arafat, local Israeli newspapers reported Thursday.

According to the reports, the doctors were summoned by the PNA after Arafat continued on Wednesday to complain of acute pain in his abdomen, accompanied by high temperature, severe diarrhea and vomiting.

Arafat had been ill for more than a week and some of his aides were expressing serious concerns about his condition, the reports noted.

A senior PNA official told Jerusalem Post that despite his illness, Arafat received a Turkish delegation in his office on Wednesday.

"I can't say that there is a real improvement in his condition," the official said, "Unfortunately, he continues to be very ill. "The Hamas-affiliated Palestine Information Center web site even quoted an anonymous Palestinian security official as saying that he did not rule out the possibility that Arafat had been poisoned by Israel.

"We have information which we are trying to verify ... President Arafat may have been injected with a lethal dose that slowly and gradually leads to a natural death within a month," the official said.

Arafat was not seen in public Thursday and canceled an evening appearance, media reports said.

Britain's Guardian newspaper on Wednesday quoted a Palestinian official close to Arafat as saying that Arafat had a light heartattack, but it was kept secret for fear of creating panic.The report was later denied by PNA officials.

Nabil Abu Rudaineh, Arafat's spokesman, said Arafat is feeling good and accused "hostile elements" of spreading rumors about his failed health.

Dr. Yousef Qassous, a heart specialist who examined Arafat last week, told reporters in Amman that the report carried by Guardian was "untrue," and an electrocardiogram showed that Arafat has noheart problems.

"The report about the heart attack is a complete lie," said Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a senior aide to Arafat.

Arafat suffered acute pain in his stomach last week but is now recovering, he said, adding that Arafat's frail appearance was the result of "vomiting and a loss of appetite."

Palestinian Cabinet ministers Saeb Erekat and Nabil Shaath also denied any serious illness of Arafat, stressing that Arafat was suffering from an abdominal virus.

Several years ago, Arafat developed noticeable tremors in his lower lip. His doctors said it was a nervous tic, but media reports speculated that he suffers from Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder.

While the reports on Arafat's state of health were conflicting, there are rising concern over the hypothesis that in case the aging leader's condition proves to be terminal, what will happen to the already worsening peace prospects.

Palestinian officials said Thursday that Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei had informed Arafat of his desire to quit the job. Qurei's announcement came a short time after the Palestinian Legislative Council delayed a vote on his eight-strong emergency cabinet.

Local observers said that under current situation, any possible diagnosis of a serious illness of Arafat will certainly pose a major challenge to both Israeli and Palestinian authorities and probably to the Bush administration and the entire world.

Maybe the real problem is not "is Arafat seriously ill or not", but rather "is the world prepared well or not?"

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