Arafat about to croak?

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2004-10-23 08:00pm

Linka

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (search) has allowed Tunisian doctors to enter Yasser Arafat's (search) compound in the West Bank to treat him for the flu, officials there told FOX News.

Three Tunisian doctors were headed to Arafat's Ramallah (search) headquarters, where the 75-year-old Palestinian leader has been confined since after the second intifada began four years ago.

"The president is in good health. He is suffering from a cold," a Tunisian representative was quoted as saying in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "There is nothing to worry about."

But sources told FOX News the Palestinian Liberation Organization (search) leader's condition has seriously deteriorated since Friday, when Israeli TV first reported he had the flu. Palestinian sources said that if the doctors determine Arafat needs surgery he will be flown to an overseas hospital.

However, Sharon has long stated that should Arafat ever leave the West Bank compound, he will not be allowed to return. The PLO has placed part of the blame for its leader's deteriorating health on his confinement by the Israelis.

Viewed by Washington as a major obstacle to peace in the Mideast, Arafat's health has been the subject of much speculation since the bloody uprising began in 2000. He appears to tremble during public appearances, but his representatives have routinely denied he suffers from a nervous disorder like Parkinson's disease.

Arafat was treated by a team of Jordanian and Egyptian doctors earlier this month for complaints including fever, severe diarrhea and vomiting, the Jerusalam Post reported. He had been ill for some time, and aides were said to be worried about his condition.

Arafat apparently still has not recovered from that illness. Haaretz reported that he was so ill on Friday that he was unable to complete the first day of prayers for the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Aides told FOX News Arafat was fasting during the holy month, against doctors' wishes.

FOX News' Jane Roh and Mike Tobin contributed to this report.

CJvR · Post by **CJvR** » 2004-10-23 09:14pm

Possibly, he has looked like he has one foot in the grave and the other on an Israeli anti-personel mine for a long time now.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-10-23 09:17pm

Send him to a Montreal's hospital our medical staffs will off him real quick:lol:

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-10-23 11:29pm

So Arafat kicks the bucket sooner than expected, big deal. He's promptly replaced by another raving loony who will, along with Sharon, ensure more violence in that cozy corner of the world we call the Middle-East.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-10-23 11:32pm

He's looked like he was on death's door for years now. Just like Keith Richards.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-10-23 11:33pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote:So Arafat kicks the bucket sooner than expected, big deal. He's promptly replaced by another raving loony who will, along with Sharon, ensure more violence in that cozy corner of the world we call the Middle-East.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Were Arafat not so much an icon it would be hard, from what I've seen, for a successor to pull the bullshit Arafat did. A lot of the Palestinians are getting fed up with Arafat's corruption, callusness, and general lack of concern for the average Palestinian. Only the fact that he can turn to violence, and become once more the hero, has kept him from getting the boot. If he croaks there's a chance they'll finally find some one not criminally indifferent.

And once that happens Israel can back down, or be backed down, safely.

Perinquus · Post by **Perinquus** » 2004-10-24 01:14am

Darth Wong wrote:He's looked like he was on death's door for years now. Just like Keith Richards.

Keith Richards has actually been dead for the last 9 years. He's just so thoroughly pickled with all the chemical substances he's inhaled, ingested, and and injected over the years his body's unable to decay like a normal corpse. Now if they can only figure out how he has managed to remain animated, the secret of immortality will be ours at last.

Dennis Toy · Post by **Dennis Toy** » 2004-10-24 01:17am

Keith Richards has actually been dead for the last 9 years. He's just so thoroughly pickled with all the chemical substances he's inhaled, ingested, and and injected over the years his body's unable to decay like a normal corpse. Now if they can only figure out how he has managed to remain animated, the secret of immortality will be ours at last.

he has been reanimated using borg-nanoprobes.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-10-24 12:09pm

I always thought Mick Jagger was the one that would go first. How that guy is still going is beyond me, all rock stars have to knock on Heaven's door very nearly due to drugs and alcohol mid-career.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-10-24 01:21pm

Jagger hasn't lived a healthy lifestyle, but I'd be surprised if he's done a third of what Keith Richards has done.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2004-10-24 02:38pm

Keith Richards was smart. The guy actually consulted medical texts to figure out the safe dosage and which drugs he could mix without killing himself. That's why he's still alive unlike the hundreds of other rockstars who OD'd or mixed the wrong drugs together.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-10-24 03:15pm

Guess that deserves respect then. Anyone willing to look up pharmacology for their physical enjoyment sounds smart.

Flakin · Post by **Flakin** » 2004-10-27 05:58pm

Sorry for the Semi-Necromancy, but he looks like hes getting worse....

BBC News Report

so, in the event this is really it for this extremist, what happens now... another one, as stated earlier in this thread.. will a power vacumn form, with various palestinian 'leaders' all vying for position, or will a more moderate candidate emerge?

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2004-10-27 06:03pm

Here's the CNN link

(CNN) -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was in critical condition late Wednesday after his health deteriorated through the course of the day, Palestinian officials said.

Doctors were treating him at his Ramallah compound and assessing whether he should be sent to a hospital.

"He is in critical condition, but he's conscious," said Hassan Abu-Libdeh, Cabinet secretary to the Palestinian Authority. "During the last six hours, he has relapsed."

He said a team of Egyptian and Tunisian doctors was examining Arafat and that Jordanian doctors were en route to further aid in Arafat's treatment.

A senior Palestinian official inside the compound said Arafat's condition was "extremely bad."

Palestinian officials said Arafat, 75, was too weak to meet with anybody and that he was unable to walk, having to be carried by aides when he needed to move. They also said he has been unable to keep food down.

Israel Radio reported late Wednesday that Arafat had lost consciousness.

Earlier in the day, Arafat said he wanted to name former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas as his deputy, according to the central committee of Fatah, the mainstream faction and Palestinian nationalist movement of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Abbas and Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei then went to the Ramallah compound, but were turned away after being told that Arafat was too sick, said Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah's central committee. The two later left the compound.

Palestinian aide Yasser Abed Rabbo, who was in the compound, said the team of Egyptian and Tunisian doctors was trying to determine whether Arafat should go to a hospital.

Ambulances were outside the compound, and Israel has said he can travel to a hospital for treatment.

Speaking from Geneva, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath said he has been in constant touch with Arafat and that he was "quite weak."

"He cannot retain food in his stomach. He is being fed intravenously and therefore he is weak," Sha'ath said.

He said it was likely Arafat will go to a hospital for treatment.

"Nobody can yet tell any physical reason as to why this condition has lasted and has continued to cause him this weakness," he said.

Arafat has been sick for the past two weeks. During that time, Palestinian officials have cited various ailments, first the flu or stomach virus, then gall stones.

Israel has confined Arafat to his compound in Ramallah since late 2001, accusing him of provoking suicide bombings and other violent acts in the Palestinian uprising that began in September 2000, charges he denies.

An Israeli Defense Ministry official said Monday that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz agreed to a Palestinian request to let Arafat go to a hospital in Ramallah after being examined in his compound by doctors.

Israel has previously said Arafat is free to leave Ramallah but cannot guarantee it will allow him to return.

Arafat has long been reported to have Parkinson's disease. According to aides, he suffers from neurological injuries caused by a near-fatal plane crash in Libya in 1992.

Arafat canceled several meetings last week and missed prayers at the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. Palestinian sources said he had a high fever and nausea but recovered and needed to rest, Reuters reported.

Man. I wonder what this is going to do to the region, even if he doesn't die. It's clear, now, that no one is in charge of the Palestinians, and the Israelis look to be going ahead with their plans to get the hell out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-10-28 09:05am

*wishful thinking*

Maybe, not that Israel is pulling out, there might be a leader arise who can mold the Palastinians into a viable country.....

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2004-10-28 09:27am

LadyTevar wrote:*wishful thinking*

Maybe, not that Israel is pulling out, there might be a leader arise who can mold the Palastinians into a viable country.....

The problem is, they're gonna need a man with the moral caliber of FDR. Unfortunately, men like that are hanged nowadays for being "collaborators"...

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2004-10-28 01:07pm

CNN Breaking News:

Ailing Yasser Arafat refusing doctors' recommendation that he go to Paris for treatment, Palestinian sources say. Details soon.

Flakin · Post by **Flakin** » 2004-10-28 01:21pm

He wants to martyr himself.

Of course, theres also the fact of course that Israel has told him he can leave any time he wants but that his return is 'Not Guaranteed'.

I remember reading that he's appointed a successor.. but I still think theres going to be a power vacumn form as the Hamas hard-liners jostle for position....

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2004-10-28 02:02pm

He's been flown to paris. Good riddance. Let us now watch as the
"Palestinian Authority" comes apart, and reveals itself to be just
another branch of HAMAS under a different name, without the
old fuck leering at the camera with his disturbing "dead-fish" eyes

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2004-10-28 02:04pm

MKSheppard wrote:He's been flown to paris.

Aw shit, he's only leaving on Friday? Goddamnit.

Bob the Gunslinger · Post by **Bob the Gunslinger** » 2004-10-28 02:32pm

MKSheppard wrote:He's been flown to paris. Good riddance. Let us now watch as the
"Palestinian Authority" comes apart, and reveals itself to be just
another branch of HAMAS under a different name, without the
old fuck leering at the camera with his disturbing "dead-fish" eyes

Lol. That is why he's so disturbing. He's like my Grampa with Parkinson's Disease, but evil.