Fears of chaos as Arafat fights for his life

THE Israeli army went on high alert and fears of unrest grew in Gaza and the West Bank last night as Yasser Arafat’s slipped into an “irreversible coma”.

And as the Palestinian leader was fighting for his life in a French hospital, a senior official said some of his powers had been handed to his prime minister.

Rumours of the state of the ailing 75-year-old's health swirled around the world yesterday evening after Israeli TV reported he was dead. There were media reports also that Mr Arafat was brain dead but remained on life support.

Luxembourg's prime minister also announced the death when he arrived in Brussels for an EU summit.

Even newly re-elected US President George W Bush said "God bless his soul" when a reporter told him at a White House press conference Mr Arafat had died.

Then Christian Estripeau, chief doctor at the military hospital outside Paris where the Palestinian leader is being treated, said: "Mr Arafat is not dead."

Last night, Mr Arafat's chief of staff, Rams Cheery, said: "I am standing next to the president's bed he is in grave condition."

The Israeli military was placed on high alert when news broke that Mr Arafat had lapsed into a coma.

The Israeli army has a contingency plan, called New Leaf, to deal with any fallout from Mr Arafat's death, including possible Palestinian riots. The military has not yet moved forces to anticipated problem areas, but commanders were told to be on standby.

A prolonged Arafat incapacitation or death could have profound impact on the Middle East.

There are fears of unrest among Palestinian factions, which Mr 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 co-operation with Israel even more difficult.

On the other hand, Israel and the United States have in recent years shunned Arafat as a terrorist, and the emergence of a new leadership could reopen the door to peace talks.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Mr Arafat's health is being tracked "very carefully".

In the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinian officials were holding urgent meetings and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie took over some of Mr Arafat's powers over security and financing. While Mr Arafat's true condition has remained a mystery, French TV quoted an anonymous French medical source saying Mr Arafat was in an "irreversible coma" and "intubated" a process involving threading a tube down the windpipe to the lungs, often to connect a respirator.