Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been in a coma for several hours and now in critical condition, Arafat's senior aides said on Thursday.

Earlier reports said Arafat was rushed to an intensive care unit on Wednesday and had lost consciousness for three times over the past 24 hours.

The reports also quoted Palestinian officials as saying his transfer to intensive care "does not mean his life is in danger" and "he is tired but his condition is stable."

The doctors did not immediately comment on Arafat's latest condition.

Arafat, symbol of the Palestinian cause for four decades, flied Friday to Paris for treatment from his headquarters in Ramallah inthe West Bank, where he had been confined by Israel for nearly three years.

Arafat loses consciousness overnight, TV report

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has lost consciousness three times over the last 24 hours, French RFI television on Thursday quoted a source close to the delegation that accompanies Arafat in Paris.

"President Arafat lost consciousness three times during Wednesday and overnight Wednesday to Thursday. The first two times he recovered consciousness but the third time we do not know at this moment," the source was quoted as saying.

Arafat, symbol of the Palestinian cause for four decades, flied Friday to Paris for treatment from his headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank, where he had been confined by Israel for nearly three years.

He is currently hospitalized for medical tests in the Percy military hospital at Clamart, southwest of Paris, after one of his doctor declared last Thursday that he was suffering from a potentially fatal blood disorder.