Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said Thursday that Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei would head to Gaza on Friday to meet officials over the situation after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's health deteriorated.

Shaath told reporters that he would head to Gaza Thursday night to prepare for Qurei's arrival.

Qurei would attend a meeting, grouping 13 Palestinian factions, including Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Islamic Jihad movement (Holy War), Shaath said.

He reiterated that reports from Percy Military Training Hospital showed that Arafat was still alive.

A Palestinian source, who spoke in condition of anonymity, said that the meeting would discuss the situation in the West Bank and Gaza after a possible death of Arafat.

The source said the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was making efforts not to leave any political vacuum after Arafat's death, which may cause chaos and anarchy in the Palestinian territories.

Source: Xinhua