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Suha Arafat

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Yasser Arafat was not poisoned when he died in 2004, French scientists concluded.

According to French media leaks, the scientists probing the death of the Palestinian leader have reportedly concluded he died after a “generalized infection”.

A previous report by Swiss scientists said tests on Yasser Arafat’s body showed “unexpected high activity” of polonium.

This “moderately” supported the theory, long believed by many Palestinians, that he was poisoned, the report said.

Yasser Arafat, who led the Palestine Liberation Organization for 35 years and became the first president of the Palestinian Authority in 1996, fell violently ill in October 2004 at his compound.

Two weeks later Yasser Arafat was flown to a French military hospital in Paris, where he died on November 11, 2004, at the age of 75.

Yasser Arafat’s official medical records say he died from a stroke resulting from a blood disorder. French doctors were not able at the time to determine what had caused the disorder.

His body was exhumed for testing last year amid continuing claims he was murdered. Many Palestinians have accused Israel of being behind his death, something which Israel has always denied.

The latest reported findings were “not a surprise”, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP.

Yasser Arafat fell violently ill in October 2004 at his compound

Yasser Arafat fell violently ill in October 2004 at his compound

In July 2012, an al-Jazeera documentary reported that scientists at the Swiss Institute of Radiation Physics had found “significant” traces of a highly radioactive and toxic material on personal effects given to Yasser Arafat’s widow Suha after his death, including his trademark keffiyeh.

Suha Arafat asked the Palestinian Authority to authorize the exhumation of his remains in order “to reveal the truth”.

The Palestinian Authority granted French investigators and a team of Swiss scientists permission to exhume Arafat’s body and take samples for testing. Russia also sent experts, and samples were sent to its Federal Medico-Biological Agency.

Suha Arafat also filed a civil suit at a court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, alleging that her husband was murdered by an unnamed “perpetrator X”. French prosecutors began a murder inquiry in August 2012.

Last month, a forensic expert said that the levels of polonium found in Yasser Arafat’s remains by the Swiss scientists were 18 to 36 times higher than normal.

However, they said their findings could not categorically prove the theory that he was poisoned.

The Swiss scientists had stressed that they had been unable to reach a more definitive conclusion because of the time that had lapsed since Yasser Arafat’s death, the limited samples available and the confused “chain of custody” of some of the specimens.

Also on Tuesday, a Palestinian investigator said he would soon name the people he believed were responsible for Yasser Arafat’s death.

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Late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had high levels of radioactive polonium in his body, Swiss scientists have confirmed.

However, they could not say whether polonium poisoning had caused his death in 2004.

Their report concluded that Yasser Arafat’s remains showed levels of polonium 18 times higher than normal.

Many Palestinians have long believed that Israel poisoned Yasser Arafat. There have also been allegations that he had AIDS or cancer. Israel has consistently denied any involvement.

The scientists – from the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland – had carried out a detailed examination of Arafat’s medical records, samples taken from his remains and items he had taken into the hospital in Paris where he died in 2004.

The biological materials included pieces of Yasser Arafat’s bones and soil samples from around his corpse.

Yasser Arafat had high levels of radioactive polonium in his body

Yasser Arafat had high levels of radioactive polonium in his body

Professor Francois Bochud told a news conference on Thursday that the high level of polonium detected “by definition… indicates third party involvement… Our results offer moderate backing for the theory of poisoning.”

But he went on to say: “Was polonium the cause of the death for certain? The answer is no, we cannot show categorically that hypothesis that the poisoning caused was this or that.”

In their report, the scientists had stressed that they had been unable to reach a more definitive conclusion because of the time that had lapsed since Yasser Arafat’s death, the limited samples available and the confused “chain of custody” of some of the specimens.

Polonium-210 is a highly radioactive substance. It is found naturally in low doses in food and in the body, but can be fatal if ingested in high doses.

Yasser Arafat, who led the Palestine Liberation Organization for 35 years and became the first president of the Palestinian Authority in 1996, fell violently ill in October 2004 at his compound in the West Bank.

Two weeks later Yasser Arafat was flown to a French military hospital in Paris, where he died on November 11, 2004, aged 75.

His official medical records say he died from a stroke resulting from a blood disorder.

France began a murder inquiry in August 2012 after the preliminary findings of polonium by the Lausanne scientists, who have been working with an al-Jazeera documentary crew.

Parallel investigations are being carried out by French and Russian experts – one Russian official said last month that no traces of polonium had been found.

Ysser Arafat’s widow, Suha Arafat, who had objected to a post-mortem at the time of his death, agreed for his body to be exhumed a year ago “to reveal the truth”.

Welcoming the Swiss report, Suha Arafat said she had no doubt that her husband had been assassinated but refused to point the finger at Israel.

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