31 October 2004	Sunday	16 Ramazan 1425

RAMALLAH, Oct 30: The Palestine Liberation Organisation held its first executive meeting on Saturday without Yasser Arafat in what analysts say is an attempt to reassure the world and the Palestinians of a smooth transition of power in Mr Arafat's absence.

Symbolically, the Palestinian leader's chair was left empty.

The iconic leader is laid up in a French hospital and is being treated for a fatal blood disorder.

In Paris, Palestinian officials denied Saturday that Yasser Arafat was suffering from leukaemia.

In Palestine, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli troops.

During the meeting, former premier Mahmud Abbas, PLO's number two, presided over the meeting from his seat to the right, while current Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei sat to the left.

Mr Abbas, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, was due to make a statement following the meeting.

"We are praying for President Arafat to quickly recover," Ghassan Al Shakaa, a member of the executive committee, said minutes before it began.

"Personal differences have been put aside and we are all united under the leadership of Abu Ammar (Arafat) in order to serve the Palestinian people.

"Abu Ammar remains with us and we are working under his inspiration."

According to Ziad Amr, a former minister under Mr Abbas, the PLO's highest body will focus on ensuring that should Arafat die or become incapacitated, he will not leave a "constitutional void" behind him.

"The meeting is aimed at sending a message to calm the public, to instil confidence and to prevent any internal conflicts," said Mahdi Abdel Hadi, head of the Jerusalem-based think-tank Passia.

Mr Amr expressed doubt that would actually happen.

Meanwhile, Mr Arafat was undergoing urgent medical tests for what is thought to be a potentially fatal blood disorder at a top-notch Paris military hospital specialising in trauma cases and blood illnesses.

Independent specialists have suggested that his symptoms could signal an advanced stage of cancer, but a definitive diagnosis was unlikely for several days, a Palestinian representative in Paris, Leila Shahid, told journalists.

She made no comment after leaving the guarded hospital Saturday.

It is the first time in almost three years that the 75-year-old Arafat, who has become a symbol of the Palestinian struggle for statehood, has left his West Bank base, a sign of the gravity of his condition.

Back in his Ramallah headquarters, Arafat's supporters, who refuse to face up to the severity of the leader's illness, were expected to dominate the PLO meeting, Mr Hadi said.

Nevertheless, pragmatists would try to form quiet alliances, and there will be a third group of officials, with no particular ambition but who need to show their faces, such as Mr Qorei, he added.--AFP