Yasser Arafat was feeling better Sunday, senior Palestinian officials said, while doctors in France tried to determine if the Palestinian president has a viral infection or some form of cancer after ruling out leukemia as the cause of his health crisis.
Arafat phoned home to Ramallah and told his finance minister, Salam Fayyad, that he is "feeling well," Fayyad told The Associated Press.
Results from additional medical tests on Arafat are due Wednesday, his economic adviser, Mohammed Rashid said in France. On his part, Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat told Israel's Army Radio on Sunday that Arafat's doctors would be getting results on tests and issuing a medical report in the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday that Israel would continue moving forward with the "disengagement plan" despite the deterioration in Arafat's health and the possibility that he could die soon.
Sharon added that if a new Palestinian leadership emerged and it would fight "terror" groups, Israel would be willing to renew negotiations based on the road map for peace plan.
Reacting to a proposal by Minister Yisrael Katz, according to which Israel would not allow Arafat to return to Ramallah in the event his health improved, Sharon said that "Israel has made a commitment to allow Arafat to return to the territories." Sharon added, however that "so long as I am prime minister, Arafat will not be buried in Jerusalem," Haaretz reported. (albawaba.com)
