PARIS, Nov 6: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat remained in an unchanged but still critical condition on Saturday, with his closest adviser insisting that a recovery was possible.

Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei did not deny the possibility Mr Arafat had been poisoned, but said he did not have a final report on the veteran leader's condition.

"Despite the critical state of health of President Arafat, his condition is not irreversible, as certain media have reported, and we hope that his condition will improve in coming days," senior adviser Nabil Abu Rudeina said.

On Thursday, a medical source said the 75-year-old president of the Palestinian Authority was in a "brain dead" state, but this was denied by senior Palestinian leaders, including Negotiations Minister Saeb Erakat.

"The president is not brain dead. His brain and heart are functioning. He is not living off machines," Mr Erakat told reporters before a meeting of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Mahmoud Abbas, the former prime minister acting as leader of the PLO in Mr Arafat's absence, added: "We are following up on the health of the president. His health is stable."

Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said Mr Arafat was undergoing medical tests to determine the nature of his mystery illness. In response to a reporter who asked if he though Mr Arafat had been poisoned, he replied: "All options are open.

"The doctors are examining everything and we completely trust our French doctors," Mr Qorei said. "We do not yet have a final report on Arafat's health."

French authorities limited information to the strict minimum, saying that only an extremely restricted circle of people was authorized to give information about Mr Arafat's health, and that this group was entirely controlled by his wife, Suha.

French law says that only a patient or the patient's closest relative are authorized to give out medical information. Given the political implications of Mr Arafat's illness, French authorities were concerned to make sure the law is observed.-AFP