Arafat

[sfga6970]

I am glad that he is in a french hospital. Had he been sent to the US, his death would be blamed on us or Israel. We would have "conspired", in the opinion of the world press, to make sure he didn't come out of his coma.

Arafat Spokeswoman Says He Is in Coma

By LARA SUKHTIAN, Associated Press Writer


PARIS - Yasser Arafat is in a coma and is "between life and death," though he is not brain dead, his spokeswoman said Friday. Doctors still had no diagnosis, but anxious Palestinian officials were already looking for ways to prevent unrest if their 75-year-old leader dies.

Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France, strongly denied French and Israeli media reports that Arafat was being kept alive on life support amid conflicting reports over his condition after a sharp decline a day earlier.

"I can assure you that there is no brain death," Shahid told French RTL radio. "He is in a coma. We don't know the type, but it's a reversible coma. ... Today we can say that, given his condition and age, he is at a critical point between life and death."

Shahid suggested the coma occurred after he was put under anesthesia to have additional medical tests, including an endoscopy, colonoscopy and a biopsy of the spinal cord.

"He may or may not wake up," Shahid said, adding that "all vital organs are functioning."

Endoscopy and colonoscopy, where a camera is threaded down the throat and up the colon to inspect the intestine, do not involve anesthesia — but a spinal cord biopsy might. Experts say it is highly unlikely that Arafat's coma was caused by a reaction to a general anesthetic and that it is far more probable that deterioration in his underlying illness led to the coma.

With Arafat fighting for life, Palestinians sought to project unity ahead of what is feared will be a divisive succession struggle. Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO met with members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, along with other factions, in the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Arafat has not appointed a successor and it appears that in any transition period, the Palestinians will be led by a collective, headed by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Arafat's No. 2 in the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas.

Much will depend on how well the two men get along, since the division of powers is not clearly defined. As prime minister, Qureia is to deal with day-to-day affairs of governing and he has assumed some of Arafat's financial and security powers. Abbas is to handle diplomacy, Palestinian officials said.

Israel, meanwhile, underlined that it will not allow Arafat to be buried in Jerusalem as he reportedly wishes. Jerusalem is the city where Jewish kings are buried and not Arab terrorists," Israeli Justice Minister Yosef Lapid told Associated Press Television News.

Palestinian lawmaker Saeb Erekat chided Israel after some celebrated reports that Arafat had died.

"I hope the Israeli public will show sensitivities. I've seen some Israelis dancing in the streets, hugging each other other yesterday," Erekat told CNN. "I think it's alien... I cannot describe my feelings. It's heartbreaking to see israelis hugging and kissing in such circumstances."

After Israeli media reported Thursady night that Arafat had died, several dozen Jewish demonstrators gathered in a downtown Jerusalem square to celebrate, singing, dancing, distributing sweets and declaring that one of the greatest enemies of the Jewish people was "on his way to hell."

The Palestinians have not been in contact with Israeli officials over the question of burying Arafat. "It's premature at this stage to talk about burying or not burying," Erekat said.

Asked if there was any chance Arafat will revive and be able to continue to rule, Erekat said, "I don't know. I'm not with the doctors. The doctors haven't told us. But our thoughts and prayer is that he may be (able to) do that."

Since Arafat was airlifted Oct. 29 to a French military hospital from the West Bank, his condition has largely remained a mystery.

French physicians on Thursday said only that he had been rushed to intensive care after his condition became "more complex," and that he had been moved to a specialist unit there "adapted to his pathology." They did not say what that pathology was.

In Gaza City, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath also denied that Arafat was on life support but voiced concern that there had been no notable improvement.

"He's in a critical condition, he's not improving and that's what is really causing our anxiety," he told Associated Press Television News. "We don't have a proper diagnosis yet. We don't know why this situation is, but it is not deteriorating either."

Doctors have determined Arafat is not suffering from stomach cancer, Shahid said. Earlier this week, a medical statement drafted by the hospital said that initial tests had also ruled out leukemia.

Israel's Lapid said Friday that the Palestinian leader was being kept alive artificially, but the source of his information was not clear.

"We all know that clinically he is dead but we won't interfere with internal Palestinian affairs. They'll announce his death when they find it proper," he told APTN.

At the Percy Military Training Hospital outside Paris where Arafat is being treated, a dozen supporters continued a vigil Friday for the man who many Palestinians revere but Israel and the United States have shunned as a terrorist.

"You (are) always in our hearts," said one sign. Another evoked the ultimately failed 1990s peace process: "The man of peace who reached out to Yitzhak Rabin. Small candles flickered and a bouquet of roses lay on a portrait of Arafat on the ground.

A prolonged Arafat incapacitation — or death — could have profound impact on the Middle East. There are fears of unrest among Palestinian factions, which Arafat, viewed as a national symbol by even some who opposed him, was largely able to prevent. Furthermore, chaos in the West Bank and Gaza could make any cooperation with Israel even more difficult.

On the other hand, Israel and the United States have in recent years shunned Arafat as a terrorist and an obstacle to peace, and his replacement by a new leadership could open the door to renewed peace talks.

[82nd Airborne Dad]

Bummer, may he rest in peace . . . and lets give peace a chance, seems his "imput" to that region has prolonged the issues there, and I feel they will never be resolved until after his death . . . may it come soon!!

[cb88]

Originally Posted by 82nd Airborne Dad

Bummer, may he rest in peace . . . and lets give peace a chance, seems his "imput" to that region has prolonged the issues there, and I feel they will never be resolved until after his death . . . may it come soon!!

AMEN!

[scott.voigt]

Originally Posted by 82nd Airborne Dad

Bummer, may he rest in peace . . . and lets give peace a chance, seems his "imput" to that region has prolonged the issues there, and I feel they will never be resolved until after his death . . . may it come soon!!

Agreed.

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by sfga6970

Palestinian lawmaker Saeb Erekat chided Israel after some celebrated reports that Arafat had died.

"I hope the Israeli public will show sensitivities. I've seen some Israelis dancing in the streets, hugging each other other yesterday," Erekat told CNN. "I think it's alien... I cannot describe my feelings. It's heartbreaking to see israelis hugging and kissing in such circumstances."

Strange, I don't recall him speaking out when Palestinians danced in the street when 3,000 were killed here in a sneaky terrorist attack.

Maybe, just maybe, there will be a chance for some peace in that area if he dies.

[scott.voigt]

I think that unfortunately, it may be the best time to start.

[penumbral_shadow]

ahhhh... woodmonkey you beat me to what i was going to type ~Laughs~ i vividly remember video shot in the paterson area here in jersey where there are apparently alot of palestinians ( and other arabs ) and they were all dancing happliy in the streets on 9/11 , and arafat to isralies embodies that which bin laden embodies to us americans , the enemy. so it is of no suprise that isralies who have to endure the constant terror of suicide bombings dance in the street to the news of his passing , i know i will dance in the street when bin laden is confirmed dead or captured.

but as they say sometimes the devil you know is better then the devil you dont.