French newssite reports Arafat 'dead'

[2dogs]

HERE'S HOPING!



http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35003

French newssite reports Arafat 'dead'
Guysen Israel News offers sketchy, unconfirmed story

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: October 9, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern



© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

A French-language Israeli newssite is reporting Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Authority, may have died of a heart attack.

The report is based on the Guysen Israel News' sources and is ''unconfirmed.''

''We do not have any more information on the state of Arafat,'' the latest report said. ''The news of his death is still not confirmed.''

A report earlier in the day from Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said Arafat's condition was improving. Conflicting reports in recent days had him sick with everything from the flu to heart failure.

The 74-year-old leader looked pale and tired during the ceremony to swear in an emergency cabinet Tuesday, and some reports say he needed prompting from his aides.

But Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told the Associated Press news agency that Arafat had not suffered a heart attack, but was battling a stomach virus.

The Palestinian leader was not present at the first full meeting of the new cabinet, held in a newly designed government headquarters in Ramallah yesterday.

He remains confined to his own compound in the city. Ministers said they would present their program to the Palestinian Legislative Council today.

Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath says the new cabinet will try to achieve a ceasefire on both sides and will then implement as yet unspecified security measures.

A suicide bomb attack Saturday in the Israeli port city of Haifa, which left 19 dead, sparked renewed calls in Israel to eject Arafat.

Israel decided in principle to ''remove'' Arafat after 15 people were killed in twin suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Sept. 9.

There has been speculation for some time about how long Arafat has left to live, even without interference from Israel. Some reports have suggested he suffers from the degenerative Parkinson's disease.

The British Guardian newspaper, quoting ''aides'', reported yesterday Arafat had suffered a slight heart attack last week but it had been kept quiet to prevent panic.

The Associated Press said Arafat's personal physician was called to his compound Sept. 29 after fears he had been poisoned. But the doctor later said Arafat was suffering from a stomach flu and he was in relatively good health.

 

[Thumper]

Nothing on TV yet...nor drudge.

My fingers are crossed.

 

[Holly76201]

Nothing on the networks @ 5 am CDT. But hey, a gal can hope, can't she?
They shoulda killed him 20 years ago when they had a better chance of it!

 

[Ladybug]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=3584884

Here's what Reuters had to say as of 7am ET... not that I'm not hoping, but for now I'll believe them over the French guys.

 

[TrapperReady]

If Arafat has the flu, let's hope it's the same strain that swept through the Soviet Union in the early '80s.

 

[mtnbkr]

Yeah, he looks real good.

Chris

 

[erikm]

I'm not holding my breath over his death. I will say that Arafat dieing of natural causes would probably be best for all concerned, except Arafat himself of course. His lust for power seems to have become a braking factor on any peace plan and his 'administration' is said to be riddled with graft and corruption. I'm leaving aside any allegations of helping or condoning the terrorists.

While Israel may or may not get international kudo's for leaving him to die in Ramallah, killing or exiling him would IMO be an extremely bad move. Arafat's death at israeli hands would no only bring international (diplomatic) outrage, Israel would also run into problems closer to home. The current palestinian terrorist groups' (Hamas etc) 'military' or 'action' wings probably aren't that big even though they might have wide popular support. Arafat's assassination could cause a very nasty groundswell of support for the extremists. Imagine occupied-territory and Israeli-territory incidents increasing ten- or twentyfold. You could even see human-wave attacks on some settlements.

There's also the power vacuum his death would leave behind. Who would end up filling it? Would Israel want to risk some radical leader end up as the dominant force in palestinian politics?

Now capturing or killing the Hamas high command, that would probably cause some good.

Cheers,
ErikM

 

[gunsmith]

in the words of Monty Python

"He's not Dead Yet"!
"well ok, but he's really ill"

 

[WilderBill]

Looks like one more thing the French are wrong about.

On the other hand if they keep saying it, one day they will be right.

 

[Yanus]

Could he be suffering from "Mossad flu"?....

One can only hope.............

Yanus

 

[Hutch]

"I feel happeeeee.... I think I'l go for a walk!"

 

[chaim]

Hmm, if he was dead (G-d willing) I think the Jerusalem Post would be carrying the news front page. It isn't. It does have an article about his poor health (in which it quotes a Time Magazine article that claims he has stomach cancer): Go to jpost.com and see article named "Palestinians downplay Arafat ill-health stories" (sorry I'm not posting the link, if I do you will also have my log in, they require registration, and I don't like my log in info to be public).






Here is the article:

Oct. 8, 2003
Palestinians downplay Arafat ill-health stories
By JPOST.COM STAFF
LONDON


The recent working diagnosis is that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is suffering from stomach cancer, Time Magazine reported Thursday, basing its story on a source inside Arafat's compound.

"Our source has been reliable in everything he's given us in the past," said a Time correspondent.

On Wednesday, The Guardian quoted an unidentified aide close to Arafat as saying he had a "slight heart attack" last week, adding that the incident was kept secret for fear of creating panic. A senior aide said however that "the report about the heart attack is a complete lie."

At the beginning of last week, Arafat was visited by doctors from Jordan after a three-day illness, reported to be flu.

But two of Arafat's doctors say he has a minor stomach ailment and is responding well to treatment; his personal physician, Dr. Ashraf al-Kurdi, and gastroenterologist Dr. Ala Toukan told The Associated Press on Thursday that the dire reports are untrue.

"President Arafat has a stomach ailment," al-Kurdi said in a telephone interview from Amman, Jordan. "Reports that he had a heart attack or is suffering from stomach cancer are completely untrue."

The British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday quoted Arafat aides as saying he had a "slight heart attack" last week, but it was kept secret for fear of creating panic.

On Thursday the Egyptian newspaper Asharq al-Awsat quoted an anonymous Palestinian official as saying Arafat was "suffering from a tumor in the intestines, and he needs an urgent surgical operation to remove the tumor, which might be benign or malignant."

But Toukan also denied the reports of a serious illness.

"(Arafat) has a transient inflammation of the stomach," he said in a telephone interview from Amman. "He's responded well to treatment ... and is doing well."

Toukan said he has been in contact with Arafat's Palestinian doctors since leaving Ramallah and was confident he was receiving excellent treatment.

Arafat canceled an appearance Thursday evening and was not seen in public on Thursday.

Several years ago, Arafat developed noticeable tremors in his lower lip. Doctors have said it was a nervous tic. Media reports and doctors have speculated he suffers from Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder.

Arafat has been confined for nearly two years to his Ramallah compound by Israeli sieges and threatens that he might not be allowed to return if he left.

However, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled said Wednesday that Israel "probably would" permit Arafat to leave the compound if he needs to be treated at a hospital.

With The Associated Press