Oct. 23, 2004: Six Tunisian doctors arrive in Ramallah to examine Pres. Arafat, who is said to suffer from a severe flu.
Oct. 25, 2004: At his Ramallah HQ, Pres. Arafat is reported to be in stable condition. Israel says it would allow him to leave his compound for the first time in 2 1/2 years to receive medical treatment in Ramallah.
Oct. 27, 2004: Pres. Arafat’s condition deteriorates sharply, while it remains unclear what he is suffering from. The Israeli army begins preparing for the possibility of his death, incl. containing the situation in the WBGS and debating a burial place.
Oct. 28, 2004: Arafat’s wife Suha arrives in Ramallah, adding to the rumors about the severity of his condition. Later pictures are released of a smiling Arafat posing with his doctors, who declare that Arafat needs to be flown to a French hospital for further treatment, while PM Sharon promises that he will be allowed to return afterwards. News reports suggest that he suffers from a potentially fatal blood disorder, possibly leukemia.
Oct. 29, 2004: On board of a Jordanian helicopter, Pres. Arafat is flown to Amman, from where he proceeds to Paris; it is his first trip abroad since 2001. Prayers and rallies in his support take place at various locations in the WBGS.
Oct. 30, 2004: The PLO Exec. Committee meets at the Muqata’a in Ramallah, for the first time in decades without Yasser Arafat.
- In Clamart, outside Paris, where Pres. Arafat is receiving treatment at the Percy Military Hospital, Palestinian envoy to France Leila Shahid, reports that doctors have “excluded for the time being any possibility of leukemia.”
Oct. 31, 2004: Leila Shahid tells the media that Pres. Arafat’s condition has stabilized and tests rule out a life-threatening illness.
