An ailing Yasser Arafat entered a fourth day of emergency treatment Monday at a French military hospital specializing in blood disorders, but the cause of his precipitous decline in health remained unexplained. Palestinian officials say their leader's condition has improved markedly since he was rushed from his battered Ramallah headquarters in the West Bank to Paris on Friday _ and that he does not suffer from leukemia or cancer. But that has not been publicly confirmed by French physicians involved in his treatment. On Sunday, Palestinians said, Arafat was healthy enough to telephone colleagues, read telegrams from world leaders, and eat a normal breakfast. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said all types of cancer had been ruled out. However, Israel Army Radio on Monday quoted a senior military intelligence official as saying Israel assumes Arafat suffers from either a severe viral infection or cancer. The official, who was not identified further, appeared before the Israeli parliament's defense and foreign affairs committee, which was discussing Arafat's condition in a close-door meeting.
