News & Politics - Yasir Arafat on Deathbed

Indian Summer · 11-05-2004, 02:08 AM

Article from NYTimes, by Elaine Sciolino

Quote:

PARIS, Nov. 4 - Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, was in serious condition on Thursday in the intensive care unit of a French military hospital after a drastic deterioration in his health. There were conflicting reports that he was fighting for his life.

It was a day of fast-moving and occasionally bizarre rumors but little hard information about the health of the 75-year-old Mr. Arafat, who for 40 years has personified his people's struggle for an independent state.

After both the Israeli media and the prime minister of Luxembourg declared that Mr. Arafat had died, the head of communications for French military health services felt compelled to issue a formal denial.

"The clinical situation since the days following his admission has become more complicated," the French official, Gen. Christian Estripeau, said in a statement read to more than 100 reporters outside the Percy military hospital in Clamart, a Paris suburb. "The state of the patient's health requires appropriate treatments that have required his transfer Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 3, to a service adapted to his ailment."

"Mr. Arafat," the general added, "is not dead."

General Estripeau, who is a doctor, said the communiqué had been framed "out of respect for the discretion requested by his spouse," Suha, who has been at Mr. Arafat's side since his emergency evacuation to France from his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah last Friday.

Mr. Arafat's decline touched off a flurry of political activity in Jerusalem and Ramallah, where Mr. Arafat has been confined for the past two and a half years. The Israeli military drew up plans to deal with possible unrest in the aftermath of his death, while political officials began searching for ways to ensure that, in the event of his death, Mr. Arafat would not be not buried in Jerusalem.

Palestinian officials focused on establishing lines of authority to keep up the day-to-day operations of the Palestinian Authority while Mr. Arafat is incapacitated, with Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei assuming some of Mr. Arafat's financial powers.

Little is known about Mr. Arafat's medical history. He was said to be extremely weak, suffering from nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. His blood tests showed abnormalities.

He is known to have suffered from gallstones last year, and doctors in the West Bank said last month that an ultrasound test had found a large gallstone. While gallstones can cause little trouble, they also can produce serious infections and lead to all of the symptoms that landed Mr. Arafat in the Percy military hospital.

Reports of Mr. Arafat's transfer to intensive care first appeared in the Israeli media on Wednesday night, with one newspaper reporting that his condition was "very critical." Transfer to intensive care is generally required only for life-threatening drops in blood pressure or heart or lung function.

But the absence of regular, authoritative medical reports about the precise nature and treatment of Mr. Arafat's illness and the medical prognosis since his arrival in France has sparked a round of claims, rumors and denials about his condition.

In Israel, some media reported that Mr. Arafat had suffered organ failure and lost consciousness several times. Israel's Channel 2 television quoted unnamed sources in Paris saying that Mr. Arafat was brain dead. But in an interview with the Arabic television channel Al Arabiya, Mr. Arafat's personal physician, Dr. Ashraf Kurdi, denied the claim, saying Mr. Arafat had undergone a brain scan that showed "no type of brain death."

The strangest claim came from Luxembourg's prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who announced as he arrived in Brussels for a European Union summit meeting that Mr. Arafat had died. The Union's 25 leaders were to begin a two-day meeting on Thursday afternoon.

"Mr. Arafat passed away a quarter of an hour ago," Mr. Juncker told reporters.

His office said later that Mr. Juncker, who will take over the Union's rotating presidency in January, spoke after an erroneous Israeli media report was relayed to him by a journalist. He quickly retracted his comment.

Palestinian officials did not hide their irritation with Mr. Juncker. "I don't understand how the prime minister of Luxembourg can set himself up as the medical spokesman for Arafat," Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian foreign minister, said in a telephone interview. "They are friends."

In the afternoon, the French president, Jacques Chirac, made a 30-minute visit to the hospital, where he saw Mr. Arafat and his wife, to whom he expressed "best wishes," according to Mr. Chirac's office. The president also met members of the Palestinian Authority and Mr. Arafat's doctors at the hospital.

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The Élysée Palace said the French medical team was "doing everything possible for the health of the president."

Mr. Chirac declined to comment.

According to officials familiar with Mr. Arafat's condition, Mr. Arafat did not recognize Mr. Chirac or other people around him. While there is still no clear sense of what is ailing Mr. Arafat, the officials said, the chances that he will recover are slim.

"It is very complicated and moving in so many directions," a French official said.

In the telephone interview from Ramallah, Mr. Shaath acknowledged that Mr. Arafat had been heavily sedated and "goes into sleep and wakes up again." He added, "I don't think he is in a continuous coma." Mr. Shaath said that when Mr. Chirac visited, Mr. Arafat opened his eyes when he heard Mr. Chirac's name, extended his right hand and took Mr. Chirac's hand, smiled but said nothing.

Mustafa Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian doctor and political activist, said he had spoken Thursday evening with one of the Palestinian leader's aides in Paris. "Mr. Arafat is in serious condition, much more serious condition than 24 hours ago," Dr. Barghouti said from Ramallah. "He has undergone several procedures that required anesthetic and this may have affected him."

Javier Solana, the European Union's senior foreign policy official in Brussels, spoke by telephone on Thursday with Mr. Arafat's top deputies in Ramallah: Mr. Qurei, the Palestinian prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, a former prime minister who has long been Mr. Arafat's deputy in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The two Palestinian leaders confirmed that Mr. Arafat's condition had suddenly deteriorated since Wednesday, European Union officials said. "They said they were extremely concerned and are looking at how to handle the current impasse and the future," one European official said.

Another person in contact with Mr. Arafat's inner circle at the hospital said he had been told that Mr. Arafat's situation was deteriorating, that he was in a coma but not brain dead and that doctors still did not know the cause of his illness.

President Bush, at his first post-election news conference, said in response to the erroneous report that Mr. Arafat had died that he was committed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

"My first reaction is 'God bless his soul,' " Mr. Bush said. "My second reaction is that we will continue to work for a free Palestinian state that is at peace with Israel."

Senior Palestinian leaders and government officials met in emergency sessions in Ramallah to discuss Mr. Arafat's condition and how to handle Palestinian affairs in his absence, which is especially difficult since there is no obvious successor.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the Palestinian leadership is struggling to avoid the impression that it is taking power out of Mr. Arafat's hands, which perhaps contributes to their less than forthcoming assessments about his health. Palestinian officials are still treating Mr. Arafat's absence as temporary and giving assurances that he will return to his position. Both Mr. Qurei and Mr. Abbas are in their 60's and have health problems of their own.

Only a small group of Palestinians have been allowed to see Mr. Arafat in Paris. They include his wife Suha; Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a long-time aide; Ramzi Khoury, his chief of staff;and Leila Shahid, the P.L.O. representative to France.

In Israel, senior government officials held high-level meetings on Thursday to devise a strategy for dealing with the Palestinian crisis in the event of Mr. Arafat's death, including what to do if the Palestinians demand that he be buried in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that he would not allow the Palestinian leader to be buried in Jerusalem, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital. The Arafat family has a burial plot in Gaza.

Israeli officials did not comment publicly about Mr. Arafat's condition. But they have said they have been making preparations for the possibility of Mr. Arafat's death, and are concerned that it could spark further unrest in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

I'm Not Your Boy Toy · 11-05-2004, 02:39 AM

i just heard about this early this afternoon. i never heard news that he was ill

Hot Like Fire · 11-05-2004, 02:58 AM

I saw something about this on TV and he looks to be really sick

Indian Summer · 11-05-2004, 03:00 AM

He's in a coma. This was completely overshadowed by the election. And really, it's a shame. Regardless of your views on the man, I think everyone can probably agree Palestine will fall apart without him.

I find it kind of amusing, though, that when Bush was told of Arafat's condition, his response was, "Really?" Way to brief him. Yeesh.

LittleMilkJug · 11-05-2004, 04:05 AM

He is 'clinically' dead.

- Jen - · 11-05-2004, 04:27 AM

he is brain dead...

from ninemsn

Quote:

Arafat reportedly brain dead
12:41 AEST Fri Nov 5 2004

AP - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is now reportedly brain dead as anxious Palestinian officials hold meetings on how to prevent unrest in the event of the 75-year-old leader's death.

A swirl of reports saying Arafat had died were quashed by doctors at a French military hospital where the Palestinian leader has been treated since being airlifted to France last week.

But hospital sources say Arafat is not "technically" dead, since he was being kept alive in a vegetative state by ventilation equipment. Arafat slipped into an irreversible coma on Wednesday, reportedly while undergoing tests to determine the cause of his illness.

Arafat's aides have said their leader's condition was "complex".

Arafat's chief of staff, Ramzi Khoury, called an Associated Press reporter and said: "I am standing next to the president's bed, he is in grave condition".

Outside the hospital, 50 wellwishers held a vigil late into the evening. Some held candles, others Arafat portraits; a large Palestinian flag hung from the hospital's outer wall.

It tears your heart up," said Mahmod Nimr, 36, an unemployed Palestinian by the main gate of the hospital.

"I can't see someone taking his place."

On a day of high drama, there were persistent and contradictory reports about Arafat's condition.

Luxembourg's prime minister announced at a summit of European leaders in Brussels that Arafat had died, but his spokesman later said it had been a "misunderstanding".

The Israeli television network Channel Two reported that Arafat was brain dead but remained on life support. But Arafat's personal physician, Dr Ashraf Kurdi, said that a brain scan showed Arafat had not suffered a haemorrhage or stroke, and "has no type of brain death".

Brain death occurs when the brain stops working, making it impossible for the body to maintain its own vital functions, such as breathing. It is irreversible. Patients can be kept alive by a machine, as long as the heart is still beating and nothing is seriously wrong with the rest of the body.

French television station LCI quoted an anonymous French medical official as saying Arafat was in an "irreversible coma" and "intubated" - a process that involves threading a tube down the windpipe to the lungs to connect it to a life-support machine to help the patient breathe.

To be on life-support, a patient must be unconscious, but not necessarily brain dead or even in a coma.

A Palestinian official in Gaza who is close to Arafat's wife, Suha, said she told him Arafat fell unconscious after receiving a strong anaesthetic for a biopsy.

***Raonaild*** · 11-05-2004, 04:59 AM

It was big news last week when he was flown to France for treatment ... at least around here, anyway.

But his current condition is just rumours so far. The doctors haven't been saying much officially.

I have mixed feelings about this, and I don't hate the guy or want him dead or anything. And maybe Palestine will fall apart. Or maybe things will change for the better. A natural death for Arafat is certainly a far better scenario than Israel assassinating him.

Elizajoey · 11-05-2004, 05:52 AM

Poor guy. The vision I saw of him earlier in the week being moved from his home really showed a desparately sick man. He just simply hadn't had access to good medical care because of his circumstances.

I really hope that he pulls through but I throughly doubt he will.

It really scares me now, wondering what will happen with the Palastine/Israel conflict. Israel and the US have really wanted him out and I wonder how pro-Israel will the situation turn if he does pass away because Arafat has ensured that no one could try and gain power against him.

**sum1** · 11-05-2004, 08:52 AM

Sympathy for a murderous monster? Forget it.

Jennifer ~*Justified1/2*~ · 11-05-2004, 03:06 PM

A reporter played the President yesterday when he got misinformed about his death.

How can him dieing effect us? Does the US have anything to gain?

*Lauren · 11-05-2004, 04:02 PM

I think hell just froze over, cause I actully agree with sum1. Arafat is responsible for a lot of evil **** in the world, and has helped prolong the Arab/Isralei conflict. I won't be shedding tears over his death.

**sum1** · 11-05-2004, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Lauren
I think hell just froze over, cause I actully agree with sum1.

Scary indeed.

Walloo · 11-05-2004, 06:03 PM

If he dies it sure wont help the war in Palestine.

justsmile · 11-05-2004, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jennifer ~*Justified1/2*~
How can him dieing effect us? Does the US have anything to gain?

Well, he's the ruler of Palestine. So his death could/could not have a big effect on Israel... and relations in the Middle East. Any time a ruler, who's still in control dies the world takes notices because that county could go into turmoil. Which in turn could effect other countries.

**sum1** · 11-05-2004, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Raonaild
And maybe Palestine will fall apart. Or maybe things will change for the better.

Yeah, maybe Arafat's death will harm things in Israel and with the Palestinians or maybe it'll help. It's much debated. But no matter what, I'm glad he's gone. One less major terrorist leader in the world


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