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Reports
Arafat top aide Tayeb Abdel Rahim told the press on November 9 that Arafat suffered a brain hemorrhage overnight. While there are some reports that Arafat is dead, other reports (including those from sources near Arafat) insist that Yasser Arafat is alive, as of November 9.
October - November 2004 illness
The illness of Yasser Arafat grabbed worldwide headlines October 29, 2004 as the ailing leader of the Palestinian Authority was flown to Paris for critical medical treatment of what began to look like a terminal illness.
"President Arafat does not have cardiac arrest or heart failure," said Ashraf al-Kurdi, Yasser Arafat's Jordanian doctor, on November 4, 2004. "He is still alive. He is not clinically dead. There is no brain death, but his condition is deteriorating." Arafat is not expected to live past November 14, 2004. [1]
Onset
In late October 2004 Arafat began to experience health problems, and on October 27, 2004 he reportedly vomited during a meeting and lost consciousness for ten minutes. There was disagreement about the seriousness of his condition, which was initially reported by some as flu. Later, however, Palestinian and Tunisian medical teams were called to his compound, followed on October 29 by doctors from Jordan and Egypt. According to one of his doctors, Arafat is suffering from Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an immunologically-mediated decrease in the number of circulating platelets to abnormally low levels. Diagnostic medical tests to determine the other causes of Arafat's symptoms are continuing at Percy military hospital in Paris, where he is in intensive care.
Delays in hospitalization
Israel held Arafat in "virtual arrest" in his Ramallah compound for more than 2 years, announcing that if Arafat left, he would be barred from returning. Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had also hinted on several occasions that Arafat may be assassinated by Israel. After reports of Arafat's deteriorating health, the Israeli government stated Arafat was free to leave his compound for medical treatment. Initially, Arafat refused to go because of Israel's stated policy on barring his return. After Israel reiterated that Arafat's return to Ramallah would not be prevented, his doctors announced that Arafat would be moved abroad for additional medical tests and hospitalization.
Flight to Paris
Accompanied by his wife Suha Arafat on October 29, Arafat was flown out to France aboard a French government jet for medical treatment at the Percy Training Hospital of the Armies in Clamart, a southwestern suburb of the capital Paris.
Rumors of coma or death: timeline
On November 4, numerous conflicting reports of Arafat's status were released, stating that he was variously comatose, in a "vegetative state", or dead (AFP Le Monde; UPI; Reuters).
- A senior Palestinian official told Reuters news agency: "President Arafat is in very serious condition. He is still in a coma. The sense people are getting is that they are increasingly pessimistic."
- "So many people are making declarations without any basis," said Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian reform activist. "I am upset at how many times Israel Radio has announced the passing of Yasser Arafat. It is untrue and completely unethical."
However, the spokesman for the Health Services of the Armies, chief surgeon Christian Estripeau, declared that Yasser Arafat was not dead, but in a "complex state of health", which was the reason why he had been moved to intensive care [2].
On November 5, he was reported to be hovering in between life and death. Estripeau declared that Arafat's situation had not worsened since the preceding day, but that he could not answer questions because of concerns for the patient's family.
- Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France, 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." Later, a hospital spokesman said Arafat remained in stable condition. The Palestinian leader "has not gotten worse," said Christian Estripeau, head of communications for French military health services. [3]
On the same day concerns were expressed about where Arafat should be buried. In the Muslim tradition, a person should be buried within 24 hours of dying. Arafat and his family have stated that he wishes to be buried in Jerusalem, which many Palestinians want to become the capital of Palestine. Israel, which considers Jerusalem to be the "eternal and undivisible capital of Israel" and Arafat to be a terrorist, has denied him a burial there. On November 5, Israeli Justice Minister Yossef Lapid said "Jerusalem is the city where Jewish kings are buried, and not Arab terrorists." [4]
On November 6, the military health services announced that there was no evolution of the state of health of Yasser Arafat, in either direction.
On November 7, a spokesman for Arafat said that he is not comatose. It was not certain if Arafat had regained conciousness or had been conscious all along. His exact illness was still unknown [5], and his doctor said it could be poisoning, since leukemia had been ruled out [6].
Officials of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli security officials believed Arafat is "brain dead" and sustained on life support equipment, which probably will be disconnected on Tuesday November 9, the Muslim holiday of Laylat al-Qadr, so that he would be pronounced dead on that day. (Reuters)
On November 9, the Palestinian officials were received by Michel Barnier, Foreign Minister of France, and Jacques Chirac, president of France.
On November 9, at 10 AM, chief surgeon Estripeau reported that Arafat's condition had worsened, and that he had fallen into a deeper coma. Also on November 9, Reuters News agency reported that sources "close to Arafat" confirmed that he had died. At 3:30 PM, Percy hospital denied that Arafat had died.
Later, Nabil Shaath held a press conference where he said that Yasser Arafat was still alive, in a coma, with his brain, heart and lungs still working, and that the reasons for this state were still somewhat unclear, that a malignant tumor and poisoning could be ruled out; he said that Arafat suffered from an inflammation in his stomach and intestines, probably arising from the bad conditions in which he had spent the last three years. He added that starting rumors regarding the life or death of Arafat was indecent; according to him, Arafat's life was in the hands of God.[7]
On November 10, a "high religious dignitary" visited Arafat and declared that it was out of the question to disconnect Arafat from life support machines, since, according to him, such an action would be prohibited by Islam. At 10.30AM, Leila Shahid declared that Arafat was still alive, in a "very critical" state.
Controversy
A controversy erupted between officials of the Palestinian Authority and Suha Arafat, Yasser Arafat's wife. On November 8, officials of the Palestinian Authority travelled to France to see Yasser Arafat. Suha Arafat, wife of Yasser Arafat, stated "They are trying to bury Abu Ammar [Arafat's nom de guerre] alive". Palestinian officials were reported to regret that the news about Yasser Arafat is "filtered" by his wife.[8][9]
French law forbids physicians from discussing the condition of their patients with anybody with the exception, in case of grave prognosis, of close relatives. (Code of Public Health, L1110-4) Accordingly, all communications concerning Yasser Arafat's health therefore have to be authorized by Arafat's wife.
See also
External links
- Palestinians grapple with future as Arafat enters coma - Joshua Mitnick, The Washington Times
- Arafat Spokeswoman Says He Is in Coma - Lara Sukhtian, Associated Press