THE MIDDLE EAST

By LISA BEYER/JERUSALEM

Did he or didn't he--faint, that is? That was the question surrounding YASSER ARAFAT last week after an Egyptian official leaked word that the Palestinian leader had passed out during a contretemps with the Foreign Minister of Qatar while in Cairo. Arafat's office says no, but a Palestinian official, speaking to TIME, confirmed the blackout, saying Arafat's lips turned blue and his eyes rolled into the back of his head before a doctor came to revive him. The collapse occurred as Arafat tried to convince HAMAD BIN JASSIM that Qatar should cancel a Middle East economic conference to protest the paralysis in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Some say the Palestinian's bill of health isn't very hopeful. According to an intelligence agency, Arafat has taken to telling close aides that he doesn't think he'll make it to his 70th birthday, two years away. After noticing his trembling hands, some observers believe he has early symptoms of Parkinson's disease. As far as the fainting episode is concerned, a high-ranking aide explains that Arafat, who keeps a notoriously irregular schedule, hadn't slept the two previous nights. But if Arafat, the only leader the Palestinians have known for 28 years, should depart the scene soon, there will be a messy succession struggle, as no heir is at all apparent.

--By Lisa Beyer/Jerusalem