CAIRO, November 7 (IslamOnline.net) - Doctors in the French military hospital of Percy have told Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s wife and officials accompanying him that the veteran leader has passed away, well-placed Palestinian sources told IslamOnline.net on Sunday, November 7.

The French doctors also notified the Palestinian Authority that the life-support systems Arafat is being kept on are absolutely useless, the sources said in exclusive statements.

They added that officials from the PA and Fatah, Arafat’s mainstream movement, have asked the French to keep the news under wraps and give them 36 hours to arrange the home front.

The sources further said that Suha Arafat has agreed to give Fatah Central Committee the final say as to when the life-support systems should be taken off and Arafat’s death officially announced.

Palestinian leaders have for the past two days been engaged in a series of shuttle meetings to ensure a smooth transfer of power after the announcement.

Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, who is in charge of the PA, chaired Sunday a meeting of the national security council before a meeting of Fatah, presided over by former premier Mahmud Abbas.

The two men later joined a meeting with leaders of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

The well-placed Palestinian sources ridiculed statements made earlier Sunday by Arafat’s top aide Nabil Abu Rudeina that the veteran leader was not in a coma.

"This is unconceivable especially that he was one of those who asked the French for the 36-hour chance to arrange things," they noted.

Emerging from the hospital, Abu Rudeina told reporters that Arafat " is not in a coma… He is under strict medical observance. We hope that in the coming few days we will be able to know exactly what he is suffering from. So far, nobody could diagnose the situation."

The sources also refuted media reports that Arafat’s blood samples were taken to the US and a number of European countries for diagnosis, describing the whole thing as a bid to win more time.

The health department of the French armed forces said Saturday that Arafat's condition has not changed one way or the other since a health bulletin was issued Friday.

In a related development, the Palestinian sources told IOL that Palestinian authorities have arrested several people who were involved in cooking and serving Arafat’s food.

They asserted that secret investigations are ongoing to identify those who collaborated to poison the Palestinian leader, especially that Palestinians are now sure Arafat was poisoned.

Tests have already revealed that the 75-year-old Palestinian leader has a low count of blood platelets, which are needed for clotting, but doctors are uncertain over what is causing the condition.

French doctors have ruled out Arafat had cancer or leukaemia.

Arafat’s declining health has raised international concerns over who would replace the veteran leader, the embodiment of Palestinian independence aspirations for decades.

According to the terms of the Palestinian basic law, parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh would be appointed as head of the Palestinian Authority for a maximum 60-day interim period in the event of Arafat's death.

However, in reality, the real reins of power are likely to pass immediately to Abbas and Qorei.