Yasser Arafat, who was the President of the Palestinian National Authority and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, died unexpectedly on 11 November 2004, 75 years of age, after a short period of illness. The cause of his death has since been debated, although several different theories concerning it have been suggested. History of illness Arafat's illness began on 12 October 2004 with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Soon afterward, his general health deteriorated. Following visits by other doctors, including teams from Tunisia, Jordan, and Egypt, Arafat was taken to France on a French government jet, and was admitted to the Hôpital d'instruction des armées Percy in Clamart, a suburb of Paris, on 29 October 2004. On admission, he was experiencing diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and generalised abdominal pain, along with mild liver and kidney failure linked to disseminated intravascular coagulation. His condition deteriorated with acute renal failure, and, on 3 November, he lapsed into a gradually deepening coma. A controversy erupted between officials of the PNA and Suha Arafat when officials from the PNA traveled to France to see Yasser Arafat. French law forbids physicians from discussing the condition of their patients with anybody, with the exception, in the case of a grave prognosis, of close relatives. Accordingly, all communications concerning Arafat's health had to be authorized by his wife. Palestinian officials expressed regret that the news about Yasser Arafat was "filtered" by her. The next day, chief surgeon Christian Estripeau of Percy reported that Arafat's condition had worsened, and that he had fallen into a deeper coma. Sheikh Taissir Tamimi, the head of the Islamic court of the Palestinian territories, who held a vigil at Arafat's bedside, visited Arafat, and declared that it was out of the question to disconnect him from life support, since, according to him, such an action is prohibited in Islam. Death Arafat was pronounced dead on 11 November 2004 at 03:30 UTC at the age of 75 of what French doctors called a massive haemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident. However, the underlying infection was declared unknown. The official statement announcing his death failed to determine a cause, saying only that he had a "mystery blood disorder". The Canard Enchaîné newspaper reported alleged leaks of information by unnamed medical sources at Percy hospital that had access to Arafat and his medical file. According to the newspaper, the doctors at Percy hospital suspected, from Arafat's arrival, grave