Arafat was poisoned, Ramallah committee declares

A Palestinian woman walks past a mural depicting late leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza City

Reuters/Mohammed Salem

By Ruth Michaelson in Ramallah

A medical committee in Ramallah on Thursday stated that former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was poisoned but says that more investigation is needed to establish the cause.

The committee, headed by Jordanian doctor Abdullah al-Bashir, also said that more evidence is required to confirm the use of the poisonous radioactive material polonium, as alleged by Al Jazeera satellite TV channel.

The Palestinian Authority and the committee have stated that all evidence should be brought to light regarding the circumstances of the former Palestinian leader’s death.

Dossier: Gaza 2009

These have long been debated after reports that the French hospital where Arafat died failed to find a specific link between illnesses suffered by the politician and his death.

Al-Bashir also stated that the same hospital has not given his committee sufficient evidence to aid its investigation.

Concurrent with the recent wishes of Yasser Arafat’s widow, Suha Arafat, the Palestinian Authority has agreed to exhume the deceased leader’s body to allow further examination, although no date has yet been set for this.