Jordan sends choppers for Arafat

[Minstrel Boy]

Jordan sends choppers for Arafat

Oct 29, Daily Telegraph, Australia

JORDAN sent two helicopters to the West Bank this evening to transport ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to the kingdom en route for medical treatment in France, government spokeswoman Asma Khader said.

Ms Khader said the helicopters were sent to pick up Arafat after a request from Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie. She said once in Amman, the Jordanian capital, Mr Arafat would transfer to a French aircraft that would take him to France for medical treatment.

The trip would be Mr Arafat's first away from his battered West Bank compound in nearly three years. The 75-year-old Palestinian leader was too weak to stand, could not hold down food and spent most of his time sleeping today, according to aides.

Blood tests revealed he had a low platelet count, though it was unclear what caused it, his doctors said, ruling out leukaemia.

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=2162539


Ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to be taken to Paris for treatment

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinian officials prepared to fly the ailing Yasser Arafat to Paris for treatment after blood tests found he had a low count of platelets, which help clotting. Associates said Arafat was too weak to stand Thursday, appeared confused at times and spent most of the day sleeping.

The doctors told reporters there could be a variety of causes for the low count, including blood cancer, and more tests were needed to determine the reason.



In this picture released by the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, centre, smiles at his compound in Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday.

http://www.canada.com/maritimes/news/story.html?id=4a5bdde5-f843-4920-aaf6-3a638ff32645

[livinbella]

1. Let us not view him in a bad light - he fought monsters bravely

[nodehopper]

2. uh...Arafat IS one of the monsters

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Agreed, he should be on the way to the Hague

with Sharon mind you.

[nodehopper]

6. oh, absolutely

Those two are worth each other. And each is worth a life sentence for crimes against humanity.

[seemslikeadream]

3. Arafat gets French help

Yasser Arafat
France is sending an airliner to the Middle East to bring Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Paris for emergency medical treatment.

On Thursday evening, a spokesman for French President Jacques Chirac called the airlift "imminent." Arafat aides in the West Bank say he will depart the region early Friday morning.

The decision for French treatment was first reported a short while after Mr Arafat's wife, Suha, who lives in Paris, arrived in the West Bank to join her ailing husband.

Aides to the Palestinian leader say he is in serious but stable condition, suffering from influenza and a gallstone. The Associated Press said he was unable to hold down food this morning.

However, Arafat aides later released a photo showing the smiling Palestinian leader sitting in a wheelchair surrounded by supporters in his Ramallah compound.
more
http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/1242_arafat_gets_french_h.htm

Ailing Arafat to Fly to Paris Hospital
By LARA SUKHTIAN

Israeli defense officials met Thursday to discuss the possible fallout if Arafat dies. Anxious Palestinians throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip waited for any scrap of information about his condition, with many fearing his death would plunge their nation into a profound crisis.

"I was awake all the night," said Imad Samara, a 38-year-old teacher from Gaza City. "I pray to God to save him because we need him, he is the safety valve for everything here, he is the father of all the Palestinians."

French President Jacques Chirac's office said France will send a plane to transport Arafat. Thursday night, workers cleared out the courtyard of the Ramallah compound to make room for a helicopter for the trip to Amman. A tractor cleared out piles of demolished cars, which Arafat placed in the courtyard months ago, fearing an Israeli invasion was imminent.

After the collapse Wednesday night, Palestinian officials initially tried to play down the health problems, saying he performed Muslim prayers before dawn Thursday and ate a light breakfast of cornflakes and milk.

But a close Arafat associate said the Palestinian leader spent most of the day sleeping. When he awoke, he was moved into a wheelchair because he was very weak and could not stand up, the associate said. At times, Arafat appeared confused, not recognizing some of his visitors, he added.

Arafat has been unable to hold down food, and also suffers from diarrhea, the associate said on condition of anonymity.
more
http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2004/10/28/ap/headlines/d860lsc80.txt

[olddad56]

4. he is going to die.

They may be able to keep him alive for a while with blood transfusions, but if his body isn't making enough platelets, he will die. My best friends father died this way. Eventually the capillaries in his brain will start bleeding. He is going to die.