Ailing Yasser Arafat on PFriday noon arrived in Paris after earlier he left his West Bank compound in a Jordanian helicopter en route to Paris for urgent medical treatment.
After landing in Amman, Arafat was carried by doctors on a wheelchair to a waiting French presidential jet. "God willing, I will come back," Arafat told aides shortly before the plane departed for the French capital.
Blood tests revealed the 75-year-old Palestinian leader had a low platelet count, though it was unclear what caused the ailment, his doctors said, ruling out leukemia.
Israel lifted its travel ban on Arafat, saying it would allow him to leave his headquarters compound in Ramallah for the first time since 2002 and to return if he recovers.
Arafat was permitted to fly in a Jordanian helicopter for one day in 2002 to view the aftermath of an Israeli siege, but he hasn't traveled abroad since visiting Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in November 2001.
According to The AP, two camouflaged Jordanian helicopters landed outside Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah at sunrise Friday.
Arafat was flying to Jordan by helicopter and from there to France on a plane sent by French President Jacques Chirac.
On its part, Hamas said Friday it was setting aside its differences with Arafat and wished him a quick recovery. Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, called for the "formation of a united national leadership" and preparations for general elections. (albawaba.com)
