Fears over Arafat's health

A frail Yasser Arafat joined morning prayers today amid growing concerns over his health.

Arafat's wife, Suha, flew from Paris as scores of officials descended on the sand-bagged compound in Ramallah.

Medical sources say Arafat, 75, suffered spells of unconsciousness and appeared disorientated. He was unable to eat or drink without vomiting and was on a drip.

Israeli sources instantly speculated that Arafat, the ex-guerrilla who for decades has symbolised a struggle for statehood, had suffered a stroke.

Members of Arafat's Fatah party living abroad have been urged to return to observe a vigil for their leader. And plans have been drawn up to move him to a hospital for treatment.

As hundreds

of Palestinians gathered around the compound, confidants said Arafat insisted on treatment at his shell-battered HQ rather than going to a Palestinian or foreign hospital, fearing Israel would not allow him to return. Doctors have installed medical equipment in two rooms.

The Palestinian icon, usually in his trademark black and white Arab headdress, has named no successor. He returned to territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war following 1993

interim peace accords. Arafat shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres but peace talks on a final agreement for a Palestinian state collapsed in 2000. Bloodshed followed swiftly. Israel and the US now refuse to deal with Arafat, accusing him of encouraging militant attacks.

The Israeli army is preparing contingency plans in the event Arafat dies, fearing an outbreak of unrest across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.