Yasser Arafat had not disscused his burying will

Yasser Arafat, who is said to be fighting for his life at a hospital in Paris, has not made a will specifying how he should be buried, a high-ranking Muslim religious official told AFP late Thursday.

"We never discussed this issue with the president and he never mentioned it to us," the Palestinian official said on condition of anonymity. "None of us dared to ask about it because it might bring bad luck."

French medical sources said Arafat was "brain dead" but being kept on life support machines in a Paris military hospital, reported Turkish Press.

All members of the Palestinian security services have been placed on a state of alert to prepare for a possible outbreak of unrest in the event of President &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/24/37141.html ' target=_blank>Yasser Arafat's death, Palestinian security sources say.

"The security forces have been put on a state of alert and all members ordered to be on stand-by," one senior officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"We have been told to prepare for any activity which is beyond the law and to protect the legitimacy of all the Palestinian institutions", says ABC News.

According to the Independent Online, the Arafat family has a cemetery plot in &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/printed.html?news_id=14221 ' target=_blank>Gaza and Sharon intends to pull all Israeli settlers and troops out of the territory by the end of 2005.