08 November 2004	Monday	24 Ramazan 1425

PARIS, Nov 7: Yasser Arafat's wife on Sunday despatched a key Palestinian official to the West Bank with a message for the leadership concerning the health of her husband and its political consequences.

Suha Arafat sent the message in the hands of former Palestinian security minister Mohammed Dahlan.

Members of the Palestinian delegation in France said the message deals with "the evolution of (Arafat's) health" as well as "the consequences of his absence on the political scene" in the occupied territories.

Mr Dahlan told AFP before leaving Paris that he was due to arrive later in the day Sunday in Jordan before delivering the message to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah that evening or the following day.

Mr Dahlan would not divulge the contents of the message.

But it could represent an intervention by Suha over the succession to her husband, following meetings chaired by Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei and former premier Mahmud Abbas to plan for a power transfer.

A spokesman for the medical service of the French army said on Sunday that Arafat's condition remained unchanged in the military hospital on the southwestern outskirts of Paris where he has been in a coma since Wednesday.

ARAFAT ALIVE: Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said on Sunday that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was alive, in a serious and stable condition.

"Mr Arafat is receiving treatment, good treatment in France, in line with the wishes of his friends and family. He is alive, in a very serious, stable condition," said the foreign minister.-AFP