Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath voiced hope Wednesday that US Secretary of State Colin Powell could attend Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's funeral, which is scheduled to be held in Cairo Friday if Arafat dies.According to sources close to Shaath, Shaath expressed the hope during a phone talk with Powell.

However, a US State Department spokesman said that he did not know if Powell would positively respond to the appeal."It is hard to predict under such circumstances," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington. In response to a statement by US President George W. Bush that if Palestinians want democracy, peace would be achieved, Shaath said "the Palestinians always want peace even before Arafat got sick."

Arafat is still clinging to life at a French military hospital outside Paris, with most of his organs, except heart and lungs, having failed.

A funeral would be held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Friday if the 75-year-old veteran leader dies, Palestinian officials said.

After the memorial service, Arafat's body would be flown to his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Some Palestinian officials arrived in Cairo late Wednesday night for arrangements of the funeral.

Source: Xinhua