RawStory

Yasser Arafat is reported dead; Palestinian PM contests report

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is confirmed dead at 75 after a mysterious illness, RAW STORY has learned. Doctors did not trace the cause, though after ruling out leukemia and viral infection there has been some speculation Arafat had AIDS, while others say that his condition mimics some forms of poisoning.

Qatar's Al-Jazeera network reported locally that Palestinian Authority Chairman Arafat died Thursday evening at about 9:30 p.m. Israeli time, though it has not been posted to their English-language website yet. A US diplomat in Jerusalem told The Jerusalem Post Thursday evening that Arafat has died.

"Lots of questions coming out of Washington about what's next," the diplomat said.

Two French media sources, citing a French doctor, first reported that Arafat had been taken off life support Thursday evening French time. Whatever Arafat's actual condition, almost all media sources concede Arafat is brain dead, and it is just a matter of time before he is taken off life support.

At his press conference Thursday morning, President Bush replied to question about Arafat's passing, saying only, " God bless his soul. We will continue to work for a free Palestinian state for peace with Israel."

Earlier today, CNN reported Arafat has been transferred to another facility to receive treatment more appropriate for his condition, citing a spokesman for a Paris military hospital said Thursday. The spokesman told reporters that Arafat is not dead.

The Palestinian Prime Minister also contested reports earlier today that Arafat was clinically dead; see Reuters report at bottom.

From a German newspaper:

Yasser Arafat has died at the age of 75 after failing to be revived from the coma he slipped into on Wednesday at the French military hospital where he was being treated for an undiagnosed blood and digestive disorder. Yasser Arafat, the 75 year-old Palestinian leader, has died in the intensive care department of the French military hospital where he was being treated for an unknown illness. The frail head of the Palestinian Authority arrived in Paris last week after losing consciousness briefly at his West Bank headquarters. Arafat was at first said to have been suffering from a severe case of influenza, but was later diagnosed as having blood abnormalities and trouble with digestion. Palestinian officials then ran tests for leukemia but the cancer was ruled out, and doctors remained uncertain what was causing his illness. Arafat's condition worsened three days ago and he slipped into a coma on Wednesday.

This from Agence-France Presse:

Veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) died in a hospital in France, Israeli private television and military radio reported. The 75-year-old had been treated at a military hospital on the outskirts of Paris since being flown out of his West Bank headquarters on Friday. Doctors in Paris had earlier said that Arafat was in a coma while his top advisor had said that he was in a critical condition.

From Reuters:

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was declared clinically dead on Thursday in a French hospital, Israeli television said citing French sources. But Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie denied the report, saying: "I have just spoken to the officials in Paris and they say the situation is still as it was. He is still in the intensive care unit." Israel's Channel Two television cited unnamed sources in Paris saying that Arafat underwent a brain scan and was found to be "no longer alive." Palestinian sources earlier told Reuters that the Palestinian president, who was admitted to hospital last week with a mysterious stomach illness, had slipped into a coma.

Originally published on Thursday November 4, 2004.