Yasser Arafat: Seriously ill

Hospital officials have challenged reports that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has died after falling critically ill.

French and Israeli television stations said the PLO chief is brain dead in the Paris hospital where he is being treated after being transferred from the West Bank to a Paris hospital late last week.

Arafat is being treated in intensive care after his admission to the military hospital.

Media reports suggested Arafat died shortly after 4.00pm - a claim that was challenged by a hospital spokesman within minutes of the claims being broadcast on the world's media.

"He is not dead," said an official speaking outside the Paris hospital.

The conflicting accounts followed days of confusion about Arafat's condition.

It has also sparked fresh speculation about whom the Palestinian people will look to for leadership once Arafat fades from the scene in the Middle East.

Condition critical

Arafat left the Middle East last Friday after falling seriously ill last week.

Palestinian sources denied reports that he had died, although they conceded he was critically ill over recent days.

Arafat is thought to be on a life support machine after being diagnosed as clinically brain dead.

He fell unconscious during Wednesday night and was put on a life support machine after it is thought he slipped into a coma.

The sharp decline followed reports that Arafat may had been suffering from leukaemia or another cancer.

Not dead

Despite the reports, his spokesman insisted he was "not in a dangerous condition".

Earlier on Thursday the Palestinian president was visited in hospital by the French president Jacques Chirac.

Any confirmation of his death is likely to lead to renewed speculation about a fresh effort to find a solution to the territorial crisis in the Middle East.

Some Israeli leaders saw the PLO chairman as an obstacle to a lasting peace in the region.

A controversial figure, Arafat has led his people for over 40 years - at times backing the suicide bombers who have wreaked havoc in Israeli-controlled territory on the West Bank.

Confirmation of his death will spark mourning in the Ramallah compound and the surrounding refugee camps of the West Bank.

It will also lead to tributes from leaders around the world - many of whom have tried to broker a deal involving the PLO chairman.