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Arafat Reportedly Died (Again)

Amid power struggles over the notorious terrorist's wealth between his wife and Palestinian leaders, sources now say Yasser Arafat is dead. In a brief showdown, his wife insisted that Arafat was "fine" and "coming home" and that others were trying to "bury him alive". Despite her protests, Palestistian leaders were able to see Arafat in his Paris hospital today [more.

"He is dead," one of the sources close to Arafat said in Paris, where Arafat has been lying in a coma at a French hospital. Officials in the West Bank said they had not been informed that Arafat was dead. [more]

This is not the first time news of Arafat's demise has been reported. Contrast news of his worsening comma with reports that he recently came out of a comma.

It is much more than a coincidence that reports of his death followed the visits of Palestinians who expressed their dislike of Arafat's wife. It is likely that the notorious leader has been "brain dead" for many days and kept "alive" to enable more time for those who are attempting to sieze control of his fortunes that were gained at the expense of the Palestinian people. Unfortunately, in this tragic story there are no heroes.

Update: news reports through-out the day have been contradictory but the lastest suggests Arafat is deteriorating but not dead.

11-10-2004 A late-night report by Itim quoted senior Palestinian sources as saying that PLO Secretary General Mahmoud Abbas - the most senior Palestinian politician after Arafat - would announce in Ramallah this morning that Arafat had died. According to the report, Arafat was already dead last night, but the Palestinian leadership would make the official announcement only after Abbas returned to Ramallah from Paris, via Amman, overnight.

Posted by tim at November 9, 2004 7:26 AM

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