A very close friend of Yasser Arafat is reported to be seriously ill: Report: Arafat aide seriously ill.

A top advisor of former PA chairman Yasser Arafat is suffering from similar symptoms to those diagnosed in the deceased Palestinian leader before his death, a Palestinian Web site reported Wednesday.

Doctors at a London hospital treating Nabil Abu Rudeineh had to remove one of his kidneys and implant instead a kidney donated by his sister, the Web site said.

Rudeineh’s family told the PNN Web site that the former aide was recovering and would return to the territories in the near future.

Rudeineh has been feeling unwell for some time now and doctors told his family that the liver malfunction he suffered may have been caused by poisoning.