YASSIR ARAFAT last night collapsed after his health deteriorated dramatically and he remained in a “very difficult situation”, Palestinian officials said.

Despite days of reassurances by aides that the 75-year-old Palestinian leader was recovering from a persistent flu and stomach complaint, doctors and an ambulance were summoned to Mr Arafat’s compound in Ramallah.

He had been eating soup during a mid-evening meeting with Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, the former Prime Minister, and Yasser Abed Rabbo, a Palestinian official, when he vomited, according to a bodyguard in the compound at the time.

Mr Arafat was taken to the clinic inside the Palestinian leader’s headquarters, an old British fort known as the Muqataa, where he collapsed.

Early today, Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian chief negotiator, emphatically denied that Mr Arafat’s condition was critical and that just a few minutes earlier he had been joking with the leader.

But Mr Erekat conceded that Mr Arafat was “certainly ill”, though at no point had he lost consciousness as some reports stated. A team of doctors from Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia would examine Mr Arafat later today when a decision would be taken on whether he is treated in Ramallah or elsewhere.

Speaking to The Times from Mr Arafat’s office, Mr Erekat also denied reports that Mr Arafat had issued a decree appointing a three-man committee that would take control of Palestinian affairs in the absence through incapacity of the leader.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a key adviser to Mr Arafat, said: “(He) still needs more rest . . . the situation is stable now, he is in a stable condition, but he needs more rest and more medical care.” He refused to answer any questions.

Mr Rudeineh added that Mr Arafat had refused to heed the advice of aides that he should leave the compound, where he has been effectively confined by Israel, for treatment. The Muqataa, which was sealed off last night, is equipped with its own medical facilities.

Alarm over Mr Arafat’s health grew dramatically after Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli Defence Minister, earlier this week granted permission for the Palestinian leader to leave his compound for treatment in hospital in Ramallah, saying he would be allowed to return.

The request had been made by Jamal Tarifi, the Palestinian Authority’s Civil Affairs Minister, but Mr Arafat declined the offer, fearing he would not be allowed to return to the compound by Israel.

Examinations on Mr Arafat were said to have discovered that he had gallstones and aides once again denied persistent speculation that he was suffering from cancer of the stomach or digestive tract.

A weakened Mr Arafat also broke his fast for Ramadan for the second consecutive day on the advice of doctors that he needed to take liquids and medication regularly.

Israeli security officials said that Mr Arafat’s wife, Suva, who lives in France, was expected to arrive in Ramallah today. Ashraf Kurdi, a Jordanian neurologist who has treated the Palestinian leader for more than 25 years, was also expected to arrive today.

One of the biggest concerns for Palestinians is that Mr Arafat has jealously guarded the power he has amassed and refused to anoint a successor.

There are fears that his passing could lead to instability and violence as powerful forces try to gain the upper hand and assume his mantle in the vacuum he would leave behind.

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