Arafat's body to be exhumed for poison test
24, Nov. AFP
RAMALLAH, Palestinian officials said Saturday they would exhume the
body of their leader Yasser Arafat next week to see if Israel poisoned
him with a Russian-produced radioactive isotope.
The controversial announcement came as a group of international
experts arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah to take samples of the
remains of the iconic leader's bones and clothing for further study in
European labs.
"The tomb will be opened on (Tuesday) and experts will take samples
the same day within a matter of a few hours," Tawfiq Tirawi told
reporters in Ramallah.He said a reburial ceremony would be held with
full military honours later the same day in Arafat's mausoleum at the
heart of his Muqataa headquarters. Family members had earlier indicated
the exhumation would probably go ahead on Monday.Tirawi did not explain
the apparent delay while stressing the procedure was painful but
necessary to establish the truth of allegations that Israel may have
poisoned the iconic Palestinian leader.
"November 27 will be one of the most painful days of my life for
personal reasons as as well as patriotic, political and religious ones,"
the Palestinian inquiry chief said.
"But it is necessary in order to get to the painful truth behind
Yasser Arafat's death."
Tirawi added that members of his commission remained convinced that
Israel had used the radioactive element polonium to kill Arafat the same
poison used to assassinate Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London
in 2006.
"As patriotic Palestinians, we remain convinced that the Israelis
assassinated president Arafat, and at the inquiry level, we have
evidence leading in this direction," he said.
Rumours and speculation have surrounded Arafat's death ever since a
quick deterioration of his condition saw him pass away at the Percy
military hospital in suburban Paris in November 2004 at the age of 75.
French doctors were unable to say what killed him and a post-mortem
was never performed.
But many Palestinians believed he was poisoned by Israel a theory
that gained ground in July when Al-Jazeera reported Swiss findings
showing abnormal quantities of the radioactive substance polonium on
Arafat's personal effects.
France followed that up in late August by opening a formal murder
inquiry at his widow's request.
The experts who will be performing Tuesday's operation under
Palestinian command originate from Switzerland and Russia.
They will accompany three French criminal investigators who will also
be taking samples back home to Paris.
Tirawi said analysis of the samples will be conducted in all three
countries.
But he added that any additional investigative work including
interviews with witnesses that may be required by Paris investigators
will be conducted either by or in the presence of Palestinian government
representatives.
"All the testimonies of the Palestinians must be collected by
Palestinian prosecutors in the presence of French investigators," Tirawi
said.
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