Polonium poisoning possible cause of Palestine leader Arafat death

PanARMENIAN.Net - Late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004, could have been poisoned by polonium, according to a study ordered by Al Jazeera, a Qatari-based TV channel reported on Wednesday, July 4, according to RIA Novosti.

An investigation conducted by Swiss scientists at Lausanne University revealed extraordinarily high levels of polonium in Arafat’s personal belongings, including clothing, his trademark kaffiyeh and a toothbrush, Al Jazeera said.

“I can confirm to you that we measured an unexplained, elevated amount of unsupported (unnatural) polonium-210 in the belongings of Mr. Arafat that contained stains of biological fluids,” the head of the institute, Dr. Francois Bochud, told the TV channel.

The scientists said they needed to exhume Arafat’s body to examine his bones and the soil from the grave in order to prove the poisoning version.

Arafat’s widow, Suha, has appealed to Palestinian Authority to obtain permission for the exhumation.

“We got into this very, very painful conclusion, but at least this removes this great burden on me, on my chest,” Suha told Al-Jazeera. "At least I’ve done something to explain to the Palestinian people, to the Arab and Muslim generation all over the world, that it was not a natural death, it was a crime.”

Arafat died in a French military hospital on November 11, 2004, and was buried on the grounds of his West Bank headquarters. There were rumors that he had died because of cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and even AIDS.

Patrice Mangin, the head of the Institute of Legal Medicine at Lausanne University Swiss, who was involved in the test, told the TV channel that scientists ruled out the version about Arafat’s fatal diseases.

“There was no liver cirrhosis, apparently no traces of cancer, no leukemia,” Mangin said, adding that there was also no sign of HIV or AIDS.

According to the TV report, Arafat suffered weight loss, severe vomiting and diarrhea shortly before his death which can be signs of polonium poisoning.

Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent, who died in 2006 from polonium poisoning, had the same symptoms, Al Jazeera said.