Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei£¨2nd L) is surrounded by journalists after he arrives at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Nov. 8, 2004. (Xinhua Photo/Gao Xueyu)

Arafat and wife Suha Arafat.  (Xinhua file photo)

    RAMALLAH, Nov. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei expressed his grief on Monday for the accusation of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's wife Suha Arafat that the Palestinian leadership was "plotting on Arafat." 

    In a press release, Qurei said he wished Arafat to recover and continue leading the Palestinian people, asserting that the Palestinian leadership was faithful, and would always be faithful to Arafat.

    "Arafat was welcomed as the Palestinians' president and an Arab leader, so he belongs to the Palestinian people and his cause is the people's cause," Qurei said. 

    Qurei also said no one was waiting to grab the role to be Arafat's alternative, and "we have institutions to follow their duties according to laws he himself (Arafat) decided." Qurei announced by his name that the Palestinian National Authority, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian factions would always remain faithful to Arafat, and they were grievous for Suha's statements. 

    Earlier on Monday, Arafat's wife Suha Arafat said in an interview with pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV that the Palestinian leaders who planned to visit Arafat in Paris wanted to bury the leader "alive" and inherit his power. 

    Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath and Mahmoud Abbas, No. 2 of the PLO, had been scheduled to fly to Paris later Monday to visit ailing Arafat. 

    The three men initially cancelled their planned trip to Paris after Suha's comments were aired but later confirmed they would go ahead with their plans. Enditem