Israeli security officials are meeting today to study the repercussions in the Middle East should the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, die.
Senior officials, including Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Army Chief Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, were to focus their weekly meeting on reports that Arafat's health took a sudden turn for the worse.
The Israeli government has drawn up contingency plans which allow for further harsh military measures to be taken against the Palestinian territories in the event of Mr Yasser Arafat's death.
A five-page document leaked several months ago says its response to a popular uprising following the chairman of the Palestinian Authority's death could involve a broad military operation in the Gaza Strip.
The contingency plan forecasts chaos in the territories following the Palestinian leader's death.
It says Mr Arafat's Palestinian Authority will collapse on his passing and Islamic groups, led by Hamas, could rise up out of the refugee camps where they have strong support and try to take control of the Palestinian government.
However, it expects the biggest crisis to be over the burial of Mr Arafat.
Political sources said the document anticipated that Palestinians would demand to bury Mr Arafat in the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary, the third-holiest Muslim shrine, which is in Arab East Jerusalem.
The document says Israel must make sure the Palestinian leader's body is not buried in Jerusalem.
Palestinians around the world will express collective grief, the document says, and the crisis could include holding Mr Arafat's body in his West Bank headquarters for several days, leading to international pressure on Israel to bury him in Jerusalem.
Another scenario foresees thousands of Palestinians trying to bring the body from the West Bank town of Ramallah to Jerusalem.
The document recommended that Israel allow the aged leader to be treated abroad if his health deteriorated, in the hope he would die outside the country, removing all blame from Israel and making it easier to stop his burial in Jerusalem.
Officials close to Mr Arafat say he has never indicated where he wants to be buried, but the assumption is he would want to be buried on the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, a supreme honour for Muslims.