BRKG] 16:00 ET Report: Arafat lost consciousness
Sources: Serious deterioration in Arafat's health
 

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Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST Oct. 27, 2004

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Palestinian sources in Ramallah said Wednesday night that there has been a serious deterioration in Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's health.

The sources said a number of Palestinian officials were summoned urgently to Arafat's Mukata compound in Ramallah following reports that Arafat has lost consciousness.

Among the officials were Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and former Prime Miister Mahmoud Abbas.

The officials are still at the Mukata.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's latest health problems come at a time of unprecedented political and security instability in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, raising fears that his death could trigger a bloody power struggle among the top brass of the Palestinian leadership.

A day after undergoing an endoscopy test, Yasser Arafat was forced on Tuesday to break his Ramadan fast in order to receive medication and liquids.

PA officials who visited Arafat made every effort to play down the severity of his illness, saying he had been diagnosed with a large gallstone and was on his way to full recovery. The officials dismissed as "lies" reports that Arafat was suffering from stomach cancer.

Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said Arafat was not in a life-threatening situation, but needed more time to rest and recover. According to Qurei, Arafat is expected to resume his normal activities "within a few days."

However, one of Arafat's aides was less optimistic, saying it was too early to predict when and if he would be back to work. "It could be days or weeks before he resumes his marathon, round-the-clock meetings," the aide added. "I doubt if he will ever be able to work 18 hours a day, as he has done for decades. Clearly, he now needs a lot of medical attention."

Arafat's failing health has once again raised the question about the identity of his successor. Arafat has always run the PLO and the PA as a one-man show, refusing to share powers with any official and blocking the emergence of a possible successor.