Senior Palestinian leaders arrive in Paris

cctv.com 11-08-2004 12:44

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is still alive. So say officials from the French Foreign Ministry, who also said that the ailing, 75-year-old is in a very serious but stable condition. Meanwhile, three senior leaders, including Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, have arrived in Paris.

Qurei and acting PLO leader Mahmud Abbas decided to go to France to be "personally reassured" about Arafat's condition. Together with Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, the three leaders will be received at the French Foreign Ministry on Monday afternoon.

Nabil Shaath, Palestinian Foreign Minister, said: "We'd like to come back with a little bit more certainty and a little bit more serenity about his case. We already know that he is fully alive, that all his vital organs are working properly, that what he's going through is reversible. But we do not underestimate the risks that threaten his life. And we don't underestimate the problems. "

Meanwhile, former Gaza Security Chief, Mohammed Dahlan, has returned from Paris with a message from Arafat's wife.

Mohammed Dahlan, Former Palestinian Security Chief in Gaza, said: "With God's will, Arafat's physical condition is better than before. I don't have anything new to add about his condition. But his condition, he needs the political leadership to be near him."

Arafat was airlifted to France from his Ramallah compound a week ago. He was admitted on October the 29th in the Percy military hospital in the southwestern Paris suburb of Clamart for tests and treatment.

Editor:Xiang  Source:CCTV.com