Arafat's health "stable, not worrying": Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, said on November 6 that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's health is "stable and not worrying."

Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen who chaired a meeting of the PLO executive committee, told reporters that the committee would keep its meetings opened to follow up the health conditions of Arafat.

He said that the PLO would keep discussing and following up local, regional and international political questions.

Members of the committee said they hope that "President Arafat would defeat his illness and bet recovered as quickly as possible 　in order to return back to his leadership and his people until he achieves our national goals."

Meanwhile, Arafat's bureau chief of staff Tayeb Abdel Rahim read　a statement to reporters after the PLO meeting, saying that the PLO　executive committee called upon the Palestinian factions, powers and militant groups to develop the national dialogue and reinforce the national unity among them.

The statement condemned the "provocative Israeli statements issue by irresponsible Israeli officials," in reference to the Israeli officials' statements "that they would oppose burying Arafat if he dies in Jerusalem."

"Such statements are widening hatred between the Israelis and the Palestinians and is part of the policy of violence and collective punishment and daily killing," it added.

The statement also noted that the Palestinians congratulate re-elected President of the United States George W. Bush for another presidential term.

"We hope that re-electing President Bush would be a start of serious cooperation with the US administration to achieve President Bush's vision of establishing an independent and democratic Palestinian state," said the statement.

Arafat might be poisoned: Sources

The sources told Xinhua that Israel is accused and responsible for trying to poison Arafat, adding that "Israel wanted to get rid of Arafat through a slow death."

The question that Arafat had been poisoned" is a first priority for his illness after doctors at Percy Military Hospital outside Paris in France failed to diagnose the illness that Arafat suffers from, said the sources.

Arafat's bureau chief of staff Tayeb Abdel Rahim told reporters in Ramallah that the possibilities that Arafat has been poisoned are one of the existing possibilities."

Palestinian reports said that the Palestinian security forces are holding intensive investigation to find out whether the poison had been put into his food, adding that Arafat had escaped 13 times　of assassinations, three of them were to poison him.

The checkups that had been made to Arafat since he was transferred from Ramallah to France on Oct. 29 showed that he doesn't suffer from any organic disease or Leukemia. But his health　has been deteriorating.

Palestinian sources said that the French doctors took blood samples and sent it to Germany to diagnose the disease or the reason that makes Arafat ill.

Abdel Rahim announced on Saturday that Arafat is not "in coma," adding that "Arafat is completely conscious to what is going on around him, where he spoke with his doctors."

Source: Xinhua