Loyalists gather as Arafat heads to Paris for treatment

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat flew to Paris for treatment of a serious illness today, breaking free from nearly three years of Israeli-imposed confinement at his battered compound, but leaving behind a people in disarray.

Arafat’s sombre departure – a few hundred loyalists gathered on a rain-soaked tarmac – stood in marked contrast to his triumphant arrival in the Palestinian lands a decade ago, when he held out the promise of statehood.

At daybreak today, Arafat, wearing a grey fur hat and an olive-colour jacket, was helped into a Jordanian military helicopter outside his headquarters. He looked pale and jaundiced, but tried to smile as a few hundred loyalists chanted: “With our spirit and our blood, we will redeem you, Abu Ammar!”, using his nom de guerre. He was accompanied by his wife, Suha, 42, who had rushed to his side from exile in Paris.

Blood tests have revealed Arafat has a low platelet count, but doctors said they need to run more tests to find the cause.

In a news conference yesterday, Arafat’s personal physician, Dr. Ashraf Kurdi, ruled out leukaemia.

However, an Arafat confidant, Dr. Ahmed Tibi, said today: “At this point, no possibility has been eliminated”.

Tibi, an Israeli Arab legislator, said Israeli intelligence officials had speculated that Arafat might be suffering from leukaemia, and indicated he might have some of the symptoms of the disease.

In lifting its travel ban, Israel promised it would allow Arafat to return.

However, Palestinians were beginning to consider how their world would look without the 75-year-old Arafat, the only leader they have known for nearly four decades.

The last photos taken of Arafat in the West Bank underscored his transformation from leader to patient. They showed him in a wheelchair, holding his doctors’ hands and wearing a jogging suit and a stocking cap, instead of his trademark military fatigues and chequered headscarf. He had spent most of yesterday sleeping, was too weak to stand and unable to hold down food.

From Ramallah, Arafat was flown to a Jordanian military base, and from there transferred to a French hospital plane. He was to arrive in Paris around noon today. Arafat, once known for his love of travel, had not left the West Bank since a tour of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in November 2001.

Palestinians watched their leader’s departure with mixed feelings.

Many have been frustrated by his corruption-tainted rule and failure to resolve the conflict with Israel.

However, he has been a unifying force and many feared his departure could unleash a possibly bloody power struggle.

“He is the safety valve for everything here,” said Imad Samara, 38, a teacher in Gaza City. “He is the father of all the Palestinians.”

Senior Palestinian officials were to hold a first round of meetings tomorrow, but Arafat did not name a stand-in during his absence. Arafat has persistently refused to appoint a successor.

“We admit that things will not be easy,” said Yasser Abed Rabbo, a former Cabinet minister and Arafat confidant, ”but we will try our best for full co-ordination; and we will consult with president Arafat on the important issues.”

A change in leadership could transform the Palestinians’ relations with Israel. The Israeli government has refused to deal with Arafat, saying he was not a partner for peace.

“Whatever will be, we are seeing Arafat being sidelined,” said Yossi Beilin, a dovish Israeli politician and former peace negotiator.

Arafat had been sick for the past two weeks, with aides initially insisting he was suffering from a bad case of the flu. Doctors later said he was afflicted with a large gallstone. The Palestinian leader has shown symptoms of Parkinson’s disease since the late 1990s.

On Wednesday, his condition deteriorated. He vomited, collapsed and briefly lost consciousness.

Doctors said he had a low blood platelet count, a marker that could indicate a wide range of problems, from cancer to bleeding ulcers, liver disease and chicken pox.

His doctors recommended he be moved to Paris, where he can receive better medical care.

The Bush administration, which has also tried to sideline Arafat, said it hopes he gets proper medical care.

“This is not a political matter for us,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. “This is a matter of seeing that an ill person gets the medical care they need for health.” stomach cancer, but his doctors said tests ruled that out.

Arafat had been a virtual prisoner in Ramallah for nearly three years, confined by Israeli threats, occasional sieges and his own fears of being banished forever.

He has remained in the massive, walled compound since December 2001, when Israel destroyed his helicopters after a surge in Palestinian attacks. The following month, Israel placed tanks outside the compound’s gates.

After three separate sieges in 2002, the compound’s walls were torn down along with most of the buildings. Arafat slept and worked on the second floor of a three-story, tan, cement building.

Arafat’s only respite came after a 34-day Israeli siege in April 2002, launched in response to a Palestinian suicide bombing. Under a U.S.-brokered deal, Arafat was permitted to fly in a Jordanian helicopter for one day to view the aftermath of the fighting.

At various times, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has hinted at expelling or even killing Arafat, although he has refrained from taking any action under pressure from the United States.