Potential candidates to replace President Yasser Arafat
Ahmed Qurie: Prime Minister Qurie (66), a veteran ally of Mr Arafat, was the key negotiator in secret talks with Israelis in Oslo that led to interim peace deals in 1993. Although a skilled Politician in his role as speaker of the Palestinian legislature, he lacks charisma and has little popularity with the public. As prime minister, he threatened to resign several times, but was always persuaded to stay.
Mahmoud Abbas: Long Mr Arafat's number two in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Mr Abbas (69) co-authored interim peace deals a decade ago that gave Palestinians limited self-rule. He tried to get Islamic militants to end attacks on Israel. Like Mr Qurie, he lacks a popular following.
Marwan Barghouthi: Seen as a possible successor to Mr Arafat in the long term, Mr Barghouthi is serving an Israeli jail sentence for orchestrating murders, a charge he denied. He is regarded as the grassroots political leader of the uprising begun in 2000 and helped coordinate the first Intifada that ended in 1993.
Articulate with magnetism, Mr Barghouthi (45) gained popularity because of his perceived distance from corruption in Mr Arafat's circle.
Mohammed Dahlan: Mr Dahlan is a former interior minister and security chief in Gaza without an official post. He is prominent in a younger pro-reform generation posing a leadership challenge to the old guard around Mr Arafat. International mediators have courted Mr Dahlan (43) as someone who could instil order in Gaza after a planned Israeli pull-out next year.
Rawhi Fattouh: The Palestinian parliament speaker would by law become president for a 60-day period if Mr Arafat died. But Mr Fattouh (55) does not rank as an important power broker and would probably act as a figurehead while others make key decisions.