RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian Authority head Yasser Arafat's health has deteriorated and he may have lost consciousness, Palestinian sources said late Wednesday.
Sources told the Jerusalem Post there had been a serious deterioration in Arafat's health, and a number of Palestinian officials had been summoned to his West Bank compound in Ramallah.
Among the officials reported to be at the Mukata compound were Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.
Arafat's latest health problems come at a time of unprecedented political and security instability in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, raising fears his death could trigger a bloody power struggle among the top brass of the Palestinian leadership, the report said.
Arafat underwent an endoscopy and was forced Tuesday to break his Ramadan fast to receive medication and liquids, the Post said.
Qureia, earlier said Arafat was not in a life-threatening situation, but needed more time to rest and recover. But one of Arafat's aides was less optimistic, saying it was too early to predict when and if he would be back to work, the Post said.
