Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat has fallen into a coma and is gravely ill according to a Palestinian official who wished to remain anonymous. Arafat was rushed into intensive care at the French military hospital just outside of Paris where he was flown for treatment for a still undiagnosed blood disorder last week.

Some Palestinian spokesmen continued to deny that Mr. Arafat was in a comatose state.

'Last night, several blood and bone marrow tests were done that required the president to be in an isolation unit for several hours, and there is no truth to any of the reports that he is in a coma,' said Mohammed Rashid, one of Arafat's financial advisors.

Other Palestinian officials continued to blame Israel for spreading rumors about the PA President's deteriorating health perhaps in an effort to maintain unity among Palestinians back home.

It is clear, however, that Mr. Arafat's condition has taken a serious turn for the worse.

There is still no official diagnosis for Mr. Arafat's illness although leukemia and other forms of cancer have been denied, at least publically, by the Palestinian Authority. No successor to Mr. Arafat has been named at this time.