Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat remains in a coma on Friday in a Paris military hospital, as senior Palestinian officials meet back home to consider a future without him.
A hospital spokesman said Mr. Arafat's health has not deteriorated since Thursday, and he is in stable condition.
Earlier, in an interview on French radio, Palestinian envoy to France, Leila Shahid, denied media reports that the 75-year-old leader is in an irreversible coma and is brain dead.
She said doctors have still been unable to diagnose him, but have ruled out several cancers and disorders.
As Mr. Arafat clings to life, leaders of rival Palestinian factions met on Friday in the Gaza Strip saying they wanted to avoid factional divisions.
And Israeli officials say should Mr. Arafat die, he must be buried in Gaza, not in Jerusalem as he requested.