It was a scene that riveted the world for weeks: The ailing Yasser Arafat, first besieged by Israeli tanks in his Ramallah compound, then shuttled to Paris, where he spent his final days undergoing a barrage of medical tests in a French military hospital.Eight years after his death, it remains a mystery exactly what killed the longtime Palestinian leader. Tests conducted in Paris found no obvious traces of poison in Arafat’s system. Rumors abound about what might have killed him – cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, even allegations that he was infected with HIV.A nine-month investigation by Al Jazeera has revealed that none of those rumors were true: Arafat was in good health until he suddenly fell ill on October 12, 2004.More importantly, tests reveal that Arafat’s final personal belongings – his clothes, his toothbrush, even his iconic kaffiyeh – contained abnormal levels of polonium, a rare, highly radioactive element. Those personal effects, which were analyzed at the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland, were variously stained with Arafat’s blood, sweat, saliva and urine. The tests carried out on those samples suggested that there was a high level of polonium inside his body when he died.“I can confirm to you that we measured an unexplained, elevated amount of unsupported polonium-210 in the belongings of Mr. Arafat that contained stains of biological fluids,” said Dr. Francois Bochud, the director of the institute.The findings have led Suha Arafat, his widow, to ask the Palestinian Authority to exhume her late husband’s body from its grave in Ramallah. If tests show that Arafat’s bones contain high levels of polonium, it would be more conclusive proof that he was poisoned, doctors say.“I know the Palestinian Authority has been trying to discover what Yasser died from,” Suha Arafat said in an interview. “And now we are helping them. We have very substantial, very important results.”
Could he be poisoned?
Yes, he could.
Is Israel responsible?
Hardly. He was a figurehead of the Palestinian authority, which was an Israel's negotiation partner. Israel could not care less about the identity of the figurehead. The Inter-Palestinian struggle for power is a more likely address to look for the Arafat alleged assassin.
JERUSALEM: New suspicions that Yasser Arafat was murdered, perhaps poisoned by radioactive polonium, prompted the Palestinian Authority yesterday to agree to exhume the body of the leader who led Palestinians’ bid for a state through years of war and peace. Israel is seen by many Arabs as the prime suspect behind the mysterious illness that killed the 75-year-old Arafat in 2004.
A Swiss institute which examined clothing provided by Arafat’s widow Suha for a documentary by Qatar-based Al Jazeera television said its radiation protection experts had found “surprisingly” high levels of polonium-210.
Its perfectly Possible Arafat was a living symbol of Resistance and in his last days he was talking about coming to some sort of deal with the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah in which they would all work together... bumping him off was very convenient for Isreal... Abu Mazan... AKA Mahmood Abbas was noted for his first term when he fought the Hamas for the Gaza strip and West Bank. Even though Hamas won the Gaza elections fair and square.
too much radiations? maybe Yasir Arafat was exposing himself to the radiations trying to become the HULK. that seems to be the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Maybe Israel killed him? Who could be the beneficiary?
Israel!
The Arafat has the longest run in PLO, no other leader of PLO survived that long, i wonder why??? and then i look at the achievements of Arafat in favor of Israel during his tenure and puzzle is solved, he was most incompetent if not traitor leader PLO ever produced, and Israel protected him because they didn't want any pain in the butt leader to lead PLO... sad day for Israel, when Arafat passed away.. although they managed to have this current leader of PLO, but hamas got out of control...
Good if he was, he is one of the reasons for the Palestinian people's problems, he channelled away billions of dollars of aid received from other countries for himself. The man died with $1Billion dollars to his name while the people who he was supposed to be representing were dying in poverty.
So before you think of him as some kind of martyr you should do some reading.