ANKARA, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Fouad Yaseen said on Friday that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was still alive but in critical condition, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

    On last week's statement made by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who said Arafat would not be permitted to be buried in Jerusalem if he dies, Yaseen said "Sharon could make any decision on his own, but we would make our own decisions." "Arafat's burial in Jerusalem is not a vital issue. I hope Arafat will overcome all these, he will survive, and we will not have to think about such issues," he said.

    Referring to results of the US presidential elections, Yaseen said Palestinians did not expect any considerable change in President George W. Bush's Middle East policies.

    Arafat has been in the intensive care unit of a military hospital outside Paris since Wednesday.

    His spokeswoman said earlier on Friday that Arafat was not brain dead but in a reversible coma, amid conflicting reports about the 75-year-old Palestinian leader's health condition. Enditem