Yasser Arafat was in intensive care undergoing fresh tests Thursday after his still-unexplained condition took a sudden turn for the worse, Palestinian officials said. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinian leader's condition had seriously deteriorated Wednesday and he was rushed into intensive care at the French military hospital where he has been undergoing treatment for a week. In Israel, the media, citing Israeli intelligence and Palestinian officials, said Arafat suffered organ failure and that he had lost consciousness several times. The Maariv daily said Arafat's condition was "very critical." However, Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said reports that Arafat's organs had failed were "unfounded." He described Arafat's condition as "stable and serious" and said that the most recent blood tests and CT scans conducted Wednesday night and Thursday morning were encouraging.
