 Yasser Arafat is "in the hands of God", with essential parts of the Palestinian leader's power transferred to two of his aides, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said in Paris last night. Shaath said an interim government was in place and functioning. He said Arafat has been unconscious and in coma for a whole week. His situation worsened last night when he fell into a deeper coma. Shaath said Arafat was still technically alive because his brain, liver and heart continued to function on a life-support machine.
| But there's nobody home, no matter how hard you knock... |
There was no question of subjecting the 75-year old leader to euthanasia, Shaath added. The four-man Palestinian delegation that had flown to Paris to decide whether or not Arafat should be declared incapacitated appeared to have completed its mission and left for Ramallah after a lengthy meeting with French President Jacques Chirac.
| I'll say he's "incapacitated." He's dead! You can't get more incapacitated than that. All the king's horses and all the king's men won't be able to capacitate Yasser again. |
The leadership is expected to announce the new line-up of power within the next day or so, not waiting for an official announcement of Arafat's death.
| Which they'll put off until Doomsday if they can... |
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