Envoy denies Arafat has leukaemia

Crowds of supporters waved off Yasser Arafat from Ramallah

Doctors in France have for now ruled out the possibility that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has leukaemia, a Palestinian diplomat has said.

The spokeswoman said doctors at the Paris military hospital where Mr Arafat was admitted on Friday would not reach a diagnosis until Wednesday.

The hospital specialises in blood disorders and doctors there have been carrying out a series of medical tests.

Earlier, the Palestinian leadership met without Mr Arafat for the first time.

Mr Arafat was admitted to the French hospital on Friday afternoon after leaving his battered compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah for the first time in nearly three years.

Doctors are carrying out brain and body scans, as well as blood tests, to try to find the cause of Mr Arafat's mystery illness.

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"The doctors exclude for the time being any possibility of leukaemia," the Palestinian envoy to Paris, Leila Shahid, told reporters at the hospital on Saturday.

"There are other possibilities," she added.

Mr Arafat's general condition, both physically and psychologically, has improved since Friday, the spokeswoman said.

'No void'

In Ramallah, the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), has met for the first time without Mr Arafat.

Video footage of Arafat with his aides was shown on Thursday

Former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, standing in as PLO chairman during Mr Arafat's absence, chaired the weekly meeting. Mr Arafat's chair was left empty.

After the meeting, Mr Abbas said Palestinian institutions would continue to function normally.

"We are in touch with the president and still receiving his instructions as he is head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation," he said.

A former minister under Mr Abbas, Ziad Amr, told AFP news agency the meeting was aimed at ensuring there was no "constitutional void" should Mr Arafat die or become incapacitated.

The day-to-day affairs of the Palestinian Authority are in the hands of the Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei.

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He is due to convene the National Security Council - responsible for the security forces in the West Bank and Gaza - for its weekly meeting on Sunday.

On Saturday, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Jenin, hospital officials said.

Mr Arafat had been suffering stomach pains for more than two weeks before his condition worsened sharply on Wednesday night, prompting doctors to recommend treatment abroad.

Blood tests have revealed that he has a low count of platelets - needed for clotting.

Israel's government has said it will not hinder Mr Arafat's return to the West Bank after his treatment.

But Israeli defence and foreign ministers on Friday suggested they might oppose that position.

Arafat adviser Nabil Abu Rudeinah insisted Israel had agreed to guarantees sought by the US, European and Arab nations that Mr Arafat would be allowed back.