The shadow of death looms larger..
(Reuters)
Yasser Arafat was in a coma Thursday in an intensive care ward of a French military hospital, and snior Palestinian Authority officials rushed to Ramallah for emergency meetings of Palestinian governing bodies, Palestinian sources said.
Arafat was rushed to intensive care late on Wednesday. French hospital officials had been expected to release a statement Thursday morning on the Palestinian leader’s condition, but the news conference was abruptly postponed.Palestinian officials said Arafat lost consciousness several times Wednesday night, and by Thursday morning was comatose.—-Although some Palestinian officials insisted that Arafat’s condition had stabilized Thursday morning, Israeli media reported that Arafat’s organ systems had begin to fail.
Update: Ha’aretz now carrying this headline on their front web page:
ARAFAT IN COMA, CONDITION CRITICAL
Wow, they hardly ever use caps lock. This is serious.
1:20PM: The PA cannot get their story straight. Here are some examples from the Ha’aretz news ticker:
12:06 Palestinian cabinet secretary: Arafat has only been taken to ICU for endoscopy, and will leave in an hour12:19 Palestinian officials cannot confirm Arafat in coma, but state he has lost consciousness repeatedly in recent hours (AP)13:06 Palestinian officials in West Bank deny statement that Arafat has lapsed into coma (Reuters)
2:20PM: The BBC have changed their headline from Arafat in coma to Arafat faces fresh health crisis.
2:35PM: The BBC are changing their minds almost as much as the PA. Their headline now is: Arafat’s health declines sharply
3:00PM: My favorite PA explanation of Terrorfat’s predicament so far:
But other Palestinian officials played down reports that he was seriously ill, with one source saying Arafat, 75, had been medicated before tests Thursday morning and had simply slept through the night.
Yes, we realize he looks like he is in a coma, and won’t respond to anyone, but it is just that he is medicated up to his eyeballs.
3:25PM: Israel Radio: Medical source at hospital where Terrorfat is being treated says Terrorfat has no chance of emerging from coma.
3:55PM: Here’s my Top 5 Lame PA Euphemisms for Comatosed:
2. Medicated
1. Resting
4:35PM: Oh, by the way, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced his return to politics today. Sandwiched between the US elections and Terrorfat’s impending death… nice timing, bug-a-lugs!
