No need for hospitalisation of Arafat

Yasser Arafat's medics flatly denied yesterday that the Palestinian leader needed hospital treatment after Israel gave clearance for the 75-year-old to be treated outside his West Bank headquarters.

Israel's defence ministry said late Monday that Arafat, who has been under virtual house arrest for nearly three years, would be allowed to leave his headquarters to be examined in a Ramallah hospital.

But one of Arafat's medics told AFP that the veteran leader would not require any hospital treatment, insisting that he was merely suffering from a bout of flu which had been compounded by his decision to continue fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"President Arafat is only suffering from very strong flu and because he is insisting on continuing with his fast it is taking a longer time to recover," the doctor told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"There is no need for him to go to hospital. These are just Israeli rumours," he added.

Other Palestinian sources said that reports about his ill health had been exaggerated, saying that he has been continuing to work as usual and not confined to his bed.