Conflicting reports on Arafat's death
The Associated PressNovember 4, 2004, 12:08 PM EST
PARIS -- Luxembourg's prime minister told reporters Thursday that Yasser Arafat had died, but doctors treating the Palestinian leader near Paris said he was still alive.
The conflicting statements came after Arafat's condition sharply worsened and aides said he was in a coma.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, arriving for a European summit in Brussels, Belgium, said Arafat had died.
"Mr. Arafat died 15 minutes ago," Juncker told reporters about 6 p.m., at almost the same time doctors were briefing reporters on Arafat's condition in Paris.
But Christian Estripeau, head of communications for French military health services, denied the report.
"Mr. Arafat is not dead," he said. "The clinical situation of the first few days following admission has become more complex."
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said there had been no change in Arafat's condition.
Arafat's chief of staff, Ramzi Khoury, called an Associated Press reporter and told him: "I am standing next to the president's bed, he is in grave condition."
Arafat's personal physician, Dr. Ashraf Kurdi, told Israel TV's Channel Two that Arafat was still alive.
"Mr. Arafat is not dead," he said. "The clinical situation of the first few days following admission has become more complex."
It's much more nuanced than black and white. He's not actually dead, but he's not technically alive either. He's just SORT of dead in a MOSTLY dead way. Which means, as a prior poster noted, that he's PARTLY alive.