CLAMART, France, Oct. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The Palestinian representative in Paris, Leila Shahid, on Saturday morning visited Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat hospitalized Friday in Percy military hospital in Clamart, southwest of Paris.

    Shahid refused to comment on Arafat's health after the visit. On Friday, she said that Arafat was "tired" but "relieved" to be receiving care in France.

    Some other Palestinian diplomats also visited Arafat Saturday, including Palestinian representative to the United Nations, Nasseral Qudwa.

    According to a doctor who asked for anonymity, the 75-year-old Palestinian leader is undergoing medical tests that will last through the weekend.

    Arafat, widely seen as a living symbol of the Palestinian struggle for statehood, was initially diagnosed with severe influenza, but one of his doctors declared Thursday that he was suffering from a potentially fatal blood disorder.

    Accompanied by his wife and a team of medics and advisors, Arafat was airlifted to Jordan from his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah early on Friday. He was then flown to Paris from the Jordanian capital Amman.

    It is the first time in three years that Arafat has left his West Bank base, a sign of the gravity of his condition. He has been confined to his Ramallah headquarters by Israel since December 2001.

    Israel has guaranteed that it will not bar Arafat from returning to the West Bank after his medical treatment abroad. Enditem