RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Palestinian officials said Thursday Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was in stable condition but needed additional medical care.

Minister of Communications Azzam Ahmed told reporters "Arafat is in stable condition but there is no improvement in his condition."

"He was joking with us, but he needs more medication and tests and we will follow the doctors' instructions," he said.

Arafat's senior aide Nabil Abu Rudeina said the Palestinian leader's personal physician, neurologist Ashraf Kurdi, arrived in Ramallah at the head of a Jordanian medical team to conduct more physical examinations on the 75-year-old leader.

Abu Rudeina denied reports that the Palestinian Authority had asked Israel's permission to transfer Arafat to a Ramallah hospital from his headquarters where he has been besieged for more than two years.

The Jordanian team was rushed to the West Bank following news that the Palestinian leader's health had deteriorated dramatically overnight.

Arafat's wife Suha, who lives in Paris, received permission from the Israeli Ministry of Defense to visit her husband and was expected to arrive Thursday.

In the meantime, hundreds of Palestinians gathered outside Arafat's headquarters seeking news about his health.

Copyright 2004 by United Press International