Arafat, who led the Palestinians’ bid for a state through years of war
and peacemaking, died in Paris aged 75 in 2004 after a short, mysterious
illness. (Reuters)
By JIHAN ABDALLA, REUTERS RAMALLAH
The body of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was exhumed on
Tuesday by a team of international experts trying to discover if he was
poisoned, as many Palestinians believe.
French magistrates opened a murder inquiry in August into Arafat’s death
in Paris after a Swiss institute said it had discovered high levels of
radioactive polonium on his clothing, which was supplied by his widow,
Suha.
Arafat, who led the Palestinians’ bid for a state through years of war
and peacemaking, died in Paris aged 75 in 2004 after a short, mysterious
illness.
No autopsy was carried out at the time, at the request of Suha, and
French doctors who treated him said they were unable to determine the
cause of death.
But allegations of foul play immediately surfaced, with many locals
pointing the finger at Israel, which confined Arafat to his West Bank
headquarters in Ramallah for the final two and a half years of his life
after a Palestinian uprising erupted.
Israel has denied any wrongdoing, inviting the Palestinian leadership to
release all his medical records, which were never made public following
his death.
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