Arafat 'does not have Leukemia'

Initial tests show that ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in Paris for urgent treatment of a mysterious illness, does not have leukaemia, a Palestinian diplomat said today.

Doctors have “excluded for the time being any possibility of leukaemia,” Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France, told reporters.

“We can say his general condition between yesterday and today ... is much better both physically and psychologically,” she said in a brief statement. She refused to answer questions.

“The doctors exclude, already from what he has done in terms of exams, any possibility of leukaemia. I repeat: the doctors exclude for the time being any possibility of leukaemia,” she said.

Physicians specialising in leukaemia had examined Arafat on Saturday to determine whether he was suffering from the blood cancer, Palestinian sources said earlier in the day.

Early test results were expected by this evening.

The 75-year-old Arafat has been sick for two weeks and blood tests have revealed he has a low platelet count – a possible symptom of leukaemia, other cancers or a number of other maladies.

Arafat received a transfusion of platelets shortly after being rushed on Friday to France for treatment at the Hopital d’Instruction des Armees de Percy, a military teaching hospital southwest of Paris that specialises in blood disorders and trauma care.

In Arafat’s absence, Palestinian officials back in Ramallah sought to portray an image of collective leadership. Arafat’s deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, convened a meeting of the top committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The session was held in Arafat’s office in the crumbling compound where the Palestinian leader had been confined by Israel for nearly three years, until being airlifted to Paris.

It was one of the few weekly sessions of the PLO executive committee held over past decades without Arafat presiding.

Arafat got out of bed briefly early Saturday and was able to speak a few words to doctors, Palestinian sources said. However, earlier in the week, one of Arafat’s close associates said the Palestinian leader appeared confused and did not recognise some of his visitors.

Another Palestinian official said Arafat had undergone a CT scan and that the results were negative. He could remain in France for treatment for another four or five weeks.