There are conflicting reports on Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat's health.
The spokesman of the Paris hospital where the 75-year-old leader is being treated has said that he is alive, but in critical condition.
However, the Israeli media has pronounced him clinically dead.
Arafat finished politically, says aide
Officials say his condition worsened significantly in the last 24 hours and a delegation from the West Bank postponed a trip to see him. Arafat has lost consciousness several times in recent hours and suffered bouts of vomiting.
A source close to Arafat's delegation said the Palestinian president lost consciousness three times between Wednesday and Thursday. "The first two times he recovered consciousness but the third time we do not know at this moment," the source said.
Tests have already revealed that the veteran leader has a low count of blood platelets, which are needed for clotting, but doctors are unsure of what is causing the condition, said the BBC.
The PA chief was flown to Paris from Ramallah last Friday with a mystery illness, which was initially described as severe gastric flu.
On Wednesday, another senior aide relayed Arafat's congratulations to US President George W Bush on his re-election.
"He hopes that Bush's second term will be an important opportunity for Bush to secure the requirements for peace in the Middle East and to guarantee the just national rights of the Palestinian people," said Mohammad Rashid.
Meanwhile, confusion raged over reports that the leader had died. Some television channels and news websites jumped the gun to report his 'demise'.
Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Arafat had died. "Mr Arafat died 15 minutes ago,'' Juncker told reporters as he arrived in Brussels for a summit of European leaders.
However, French physician Christian Estripeau of the Paris hospital where Arafat is admitted for treatment, told reporters that his condition was critical but he was very much alive.
Also read:
