Arafat may be taken to Paris for treatment

Ailing Palestine chairman Yasser Arafat may be flown to France for treatment, Palestinian sources said on Thursday.

The decision to this effect was taken by the doctors attending on Arafat in the Muq'ata (presidential compound) in Ramallah. The medical team was having difficulty in deciding whether to take him to nearby Amman (Jordan) or Cairo (Egypt) instead of Paris (France).

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There was initial confusion regarding Paris because of apprehensions whether Arafat could withstand the five-hour flight. Later, it was decided that his condition warranted that he get a Western medical facility.

Fifteen doctors, including specialists from Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt, examined Arafat and took the decision to send him abroad.