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Tunisian doctors examine Arafat, aides blame flu
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-24 11:02
A Tunisian medical team examined Yasser Arafat in the West Bank on Saturday,
but aides dismissed Israeli media reports that the Palestinian president's
health had deteriorated and said he had flu.
The Tunisian doctors, who flew into the West Bank city of Ramallah after
receiving permission from Israel, were the second group of foreign doctors to
examine Arafat, 75, after he became ill a week ago. Egyptian doctors saw him
earlier this week.
Israel's Channel Two television said both teams of doctors concluded Arafat
was suffering from gallstones and had an intestinal infection. The television
station said Arafat would likely need to travel abroad for surgery.
Arafat's aides said the Palestinian leader was on the road to recovery from a
severe bout of flu.
Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian cabinet minister, told Reuters that Arafat was
"recovering from severe stomach flu." He denied the Israeli television reports
that the Palestinian leader might need an operation, saying they were
"unfounded."
For the past two years, Arafat has been confined to his headquarters in
Ramallah where he has been effectively isolated by the Israeli army as it tried
to quell a four-year-old Palestinian uprising.
Israel and the United States have accused him of fomenting violence, a charge
he denies.
Arafat has long been rumored to suffer from Parkinson's disease. Aides say he
suffers from neurological injuries caused by a near-fatal plane crash in Libya
in 1992.
Palestinian sources said Arafat had suffered from a high fever and nausea,
forcing him to cancel several meetings and miss prayers at the start of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan a week ago. They said he had since recovered but
needed to rest.
Sources in Ramallah said the team of Tunisian doctors included internal
specialists as well as a neurologist.
"An Egyptian medical team has fully examined President Arafat and the test
results showed that the president is well. The president suffered from minor
illness which is acute flu," said an Arafat aide, Nabil Abu Rdainah.
Arafat has refused to heed doctors' orders not to fast during Ramadan, when
Muslims abstain from food and drink during daylight hours, the sources said.
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