26 dec 2013
Russian forensic experts studying the remains of Yasser Arafat on Thursday said the Palestinian leader died a natural death, ruling out radiation poisoning.
"We have completed all the studies," Vladimir Uiba, head of Russia's Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA), told a news conference.
"The person died a natural death and not from radiation."
A Palestinian envoy, however, said the Palestinian authorities will press on with a probe into the 2004 death of Arafat.
I can only say that there is already a decision to continue (the investigation)," Faed Mustafa, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia, told the state RIA Novosti news agency.
"We respect their position, we highly value their work but there is a decision to continue work," he said. "We need a result, a final and concrete result to take the issue off the table."
A decision to ask the UN General Assembly to establish an international commission to investigate the circumstances of Arafat's death was taken at an Arab League meeting in Cairo on Saturday.
Arafat died in France on Nov. 11, 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death. No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow's request.
His remains were exhumed in November 2012, partly to investigate whether he had been poisoned with radioactive polonium, a suspicion that grew after the substance was used to assassinate Russian ex-spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
Some 60 samples were taken and divided between Swiss and Russian investigators as well as a French team carrying out a probe at the request of Arafat's widow, Suha.
The French have also ruled out poisoning, while the Swiss report said high levels of radioactive polonium indicated third party involvement in Arafat's 2004 death.
The Palestinians have long suspected that Arafat was poisoned, with some pointing the finger directly at Israel. Suha Arafat has told AFP that she was "completely convinced that the martyr Arafat did not die a natural death."
Uiba told reporters on Thursday that his agency had not received any requests from the Palestinians to conduct a repeat examination.
"We've completed an expert evaluation, and everyone agreed with us. Moreover, even the Swiss withdrew their statements and agreed, and the French confirmed our conclusions," Uiba told reporters.
But a spokesman for the Swiss investigators who conducted the studies, said the Russian results did not change anything.
"We maintain our position," spokesman Darcy Christen said, noting it was hard to believe Arafat died "a natural death" in the absence of any diagnosis.
The Russian agency in October doubted a report published in The Lancet, saying that Swiss radiation experts had found traces of polonium on Arafat's clothing.
The Swiss team said at the time its findings "support the possibility" the veteran Palestinian leader was poisoned.
Uiba was reported as saying at the time that Arafat could not have been poisoned by polonium but the agency quickly denied issuing any conclusions about the leader's death.
Palestinian envoy: Probe into Arafat death not over
The Palestinian authorities will press on with a probe into the death of Yasser Arafat after Russian experts ruled out the possibility he was poisoned, a Palestinian envoy said Thursday.
"I can only say that there is already a decision to continue (the investigation)," Faed Mustafa, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia, told the state RIA Novosti news agency. "We respect their position, we highly value their work but there is a decision to continue work."
Earlier Thursday Russian forensic experts studying Arafat's remains said the leader died a natural death and ruled out radiation poisoning.
"We have completed all the studies," Vladimir Uiba, head of Russia's Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA), told a news conference.
"The person died a natural death and not from radiation."
A Palestinian envoy, however, said the Palestinian authorities will press on with a probe into the 2004 death of Arafat.
I can only say that there is already a decision to continue (the investigation)," Faed Mustafa, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia, told the state RIA Novosti news agency.
"We respect their position, we highly value their work but there is a decision to continue work," he said. "We need a result, a final and concrete result to take the issue off the table."
A decision to ask the UN General Assembly to establish an international commission to investigate the circumstances of Arafat's death was taken at an Arab League meeting in Cairo on Saturday.
Arafat died in France on Nov. 11, 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death. No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow's request.
His remains were exhumed in November 2012, partly to investigate whether he had been poisoned with radioactive polonium, a suspicion that grew after the substance was used to assassinate Russian ex-spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
Some 60 samples were taken and divided between Swiss and Russian investigators as well as a French team carrying out a probe at the request of Arafat's widow, Suha.
The French have also ruled out poisoning, while the Swiss report said high levels of radioactive polonium indicated third party involvement in Arafat's 2004 death.
The Palestinians have long suspected that Arafat was poisoned, with some pointing the finger directly at Israel. Suha Arafat has told AFP that she was "completely convinced that the martyr Arafat did not die a natural death."
Uiba told reporters on Thursday that his agency had not received any requests from the Palestinians to conduct a repeat examination.
"We've completed an expert evaluation, and everyone agreed with us. Moreover, even the Swiss withdrew their statements and agreed, and the French confirmed our conclusions," Uiba told reporters.
But a spokesman for the Swiss investigators who conducted the studies, said the Russian results did not change anything.
"We maintain our position," spokesman Darcy Christen said, noting it was hard to believe Arafat died "a natural death" in the absence of any diagnosis.
The Russian agency in October doubted a report published in The Lancet, saying that Swiss radiation experts had found traces of polonium on Arafat's clothing.
The Swiss team said at the time its findings "support the possibility" the veteran Palestinian leader was poisoned.
Uiba was reported as saying at the time that Arafat could not have been poisoned by polonium but the agency quickly denied issuing any conclusions about the leader's death.
Palestinian envoy: Probe into Arafat death not over
The Palestinian authorities will press on with a probe into the death of Yasser Arafat after Russian experts ruled out the possibility he was poisoned, a Palestinian envoy said Thursday.
"I can only say that there is already a decision to continue (the investigation)," Faed Mustafa, the Palestinian ambassador to Russia, told the state RIA Novosti news agency. "We respect their position, we highly value their work but there is a decision to continue work."
Earlier Thursday Russian forensic experts studying Arafat's remains said the leader died a natural death and ruled out radiation poisoning.
25 dec 2013
A majority of Palestinians believe that the former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat, was poisoned to death by the Israeli regime, a new poll says.
According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll, 59 percent of the Palestinians believe that Israel is responsible for Arafat’s death, AFP reported on Tuesday.
The poll was conducted by face-to-face interviews with 1,270 adults between December 19-22 in the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, with a margin of error estimated at three percentage points.
Earlier this month, a team of French forensic scientists investigating the 2004 death of Arafat concluded in a leaked report that he did not die of “polonium-210 poisoning.”
However, a previous report by Swiss scientists said the tests on Arafat’s body showed "unexpected high activity" of polonium-210, which "moderately" supported the poisoning theory.
The scientists -- from the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland -- carried out a detailed examination of Arafat's medical records, samples taken from his remains, which were exhumed in November of last year, and items he had taken into the hospital in Paris where he died.
Many Palestinian officials believe that Israel poisoned Arafat, but the Israel has denied any involvement in the matter.
Arafat died in a French military hospital on November 11, 2004 after he was taken ill the previous month with diarrhea and vomiting.
French doctors have said he died of a massive stroke, although they were unable to find the origin of his illness.
French prosecutors opened a murder investigation in August 2012, after traces of polonium-210 were reportedly found on some of Arafat's belongings.
According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll, 59 percent of the Palestinians believe that Israel is responsible for Arafat’s death, AFP reported on Tuesday.
The poll was conducted by face-to-face interviews with 1,270 adults between December 19-22 in the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, with a margin of error estimated at three percentage points.
Earlier this month, a team of French forensic scientists investigating the 2004 death of Arafat concluded in a leaked report that he did not die of “polonium-210 poisoning.”
However, a previous report by Swiss scientists said the tests on Arafat’s body showed "unexpected high activity" of polonium-210, which "moderately" supported the poisoning theory.
The scientists -- from the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland -- carried out a detailed examination of Arafat's medical records, samples taken from his remains, which were exhumed in November of last year, and items he had taken into the hospital in Paris where he died.
Many Palestinian officials believe that Israel poisoned Arafat, but the Israel has denied any involvement in the matter.
Arafat died in a French military hospital on November 11, 2004 after he was taken ill the previous month with diarrhea and vomiting.
French doctors have said he died of a massive stroke, although they were unable to find the origin of his illness.
French prosecutors opened a murder investigation in August 2012, after traces of polonium-210 were reportedly found on some of Arafat's belongings.
7 dec 2013
The widow of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat pledged Friday to challenge a French inquiry which found his death to have been from natural causes, rather than poison as Palestinians suspect.
"A request for further expert opinion will be submitted in the next few days to investigating judges in (the Paris suburb of) Nanterre," Suha Arafat's French lawyer Pierre-Olivier Sur told AFP.
Suha Arafat lodged a murder complaint in Nanterre in July last year after an Al-Jazeera television documentary linked Arafat's 2004 death at a military hospital near Paris to polonium poisoning.
"After consultations with many legal experts and with the Swiss institute which examined samples from the martyr Arafat's remains, and having compared the French and Swiss reports, we have decided to turn to the French legal system to challenge the findings in the French medical report," she told AFP by phone.
"There will be a meeting between the French and Swiss experts in the coming days to discuss and compare the reports," she said.
On Wednesday she said she was "shocked" by the French findings, announced the day before.
"I'm still completely convinced that the martyr Arafat did not die a natural death, and I will keep trying to get to the truth," Suha said.
"How the French haven't found anything is completely illogical," she added, pointing to conflicting conclusions reached by Swiss experts who studied the same samples.
Arafat's remains were exhumed last year and some 60 samples were taken and divided between Swiss and Russian investigators and a French team carrying out a probe at his widow's request.
The French team believes that the naturally occurring radioactive element radon, found in the ground, explained high polonium levels in the samples, Suha Arafat and Sur said.
Professor Francois Bochud, head of the Lausanne Institute of Applied Radiophysics and co-author of the Swiss report, told AFP on Wednesday that he too found the French findings challenging.
"It's a bit difficult to follow their reasoning," he said.
The circumstances of Arafat's death at the age of 75 have never been determined. Many Palestinians believe he was poisoned by Israel, a claim repeatedly denied by the latter.
Arafat's widow rejects French findings of 'natural death'
Yasser Arafat’s widow said Wednesday that she still believes her husband was poisoned, a day after French investigators announced that the late Palestinian leader likely died a “natural death”.
"I'm still completely convinced that the martyr Arafat did not die a natural death, and I will keep trying to get to the truth," Suha Arafat told AFP. A source close to the French investigation said on Tuesday that the team "rules out the poisoning theory and goes in the [direction] of a natural death". "I'm shocked by [the results of] the French medical report, of which I only received four pages to look at," she said.
The French experts' findings differ from those of Swiss scientists, who said in November that their research offered some support for the suggestion Arafat was killed by poisoning. The Swiss team said that an examination of Arafat’s remains found “unexpectedly high levels” of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope.
"The Swiss report was a detailed, 107-page, professional report talking in detail about the presence of polonium on Arafat's clothes," Suha said. "How the French haven't found anything is completely illogical," she said.
Competing probes Arafat died at a French military hospital near Paris on November 11, 2004, with doctors saying he died of a massive stroke and suffered from a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation. But their findings were inconclusive about what led to the coagulation, which has numerous possible causes. His widow refused to allow an autopsy at the time. France opened a formal murder inquiry into Arafat’s death at her request in August 2012, a month after an Al Jazeera documentary linked his death to polonium poisoning.
His body was exhumed for further tests in November last year, when some 60 new samples were taken and divided between Swiss and Russian investigators and a French team of experts. Mnay Palestinians believe he was poisoned by (Israel), a claim the latter has repeatedly denied. Israeli occupation foreign ministry spokesman told AFP that the results of the French probe were "no surprise".
"A request for further expert opinion will be submitted in the next few days to investigating judges in (the Paris suburb of) Nanterre," Suha Arafat's French lawyer Pierre-Olivier Sur told AFP.
Suha Arafat lodged a murder complaint in Nanterre in July last year after an Al-Jazeera television documentary linked Arafat's 2004 death at a military hospital near Paris to polonium poisoning.
"After consultations with many legal experts and with the Swiss institute which examined samples from the martyr Arafat's remains, and having compared the French and Swiss reports, we have decided to turn to the French legal system to challenge the findings in the French medical report," she told AFP by phone.
"There will be a meeting between the French and Swiss experts in the coming days to discuss and compare the reports," she said.
On Wednesday she said she was "shocked" by the French findings, announced the day before.
"I'm still completely convinced that the martyr Arafat did not die a natural death, and I will keep trying to get to the truth," Suha said.
"How the French haven't found anything is completely illogical," she added, pointing to conflicting conclusions reached by Swiss experts who studied the same samples.
Arafat's remains were exhumed last year and some 60 samples were taken and divided between Swiss and Russian investigators and a French team carrying out a probe at his widow's request.
The French team believes that the naturally occurring radioactive element radon, found in the ground, explained high polonium levels in the samples, Suha Arafat and Sur said.
Professor Francois Bochud, head of the Lausanne Institute of Applied Radiophysics and co-author of the Swiss report, told AFP on Wednesday that he too found the French findings challenging.
"It's a bit difficult to follow their reasoning," he said.
The circumstances of Arafat's death at the age of 75 have never been determined. Many Palestinians believe he was poisoned by Israel, a claim repeatedly denied by the latter.
Arafat's widow rejects French findings of 'natural death'
Yasser Arafat’s widow said Wednesday that she still believes her husband was poisoned, a day after French investigators announced that the late Palestinian leader likely died a “natural death”.
"I'm still completely convinced that the martyr Arafat did not die a natural death, and I will keep trying to get to the truth," Suha Arafat told AFP. A source close to the French investigation said on Tuesday that the team "rules out the poisoning theory and goes in the [direction] of a natural death". "I'm shocked by [the results of] the French medical report, of which I only received four pages to look at," she said.
The French experts' findings differ from those of Swiss scientists, who said in November that their research offered some support for the suggestion Arafat was killed by poisoning. The Swiss team said that an examination of Arafat’s remains found “unexpectedly high levels” of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope.
"The Swiss report was a detailed, 107-page, professional report talking in detail about the presence of polonium on Arafat's clothes," Suha said. "How the French haven't found anything is completely illogical," she said.
Competing probes Arafat died at a French military hospital near Paris on November 11, 2004, with doctors saying he died of a massive stroke and suffered from a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation. But their findings were inconclusive about what led to the coagulation, which has numerous possible causes. His widow refused to allow an autopsy at the time. France opened a formal murder inquiry into Arafat’s death at her request in August 2012, a month after an Al Jazeera documentary linked his death to polonium poisoning.
His body was exhumed for further tests in November last year, when some 60 new samples were taken and divided between Swiss and Russian investigators and a French team of experts. Mnay Palestinians believe he was poisoned by (Israel), a claim the latter has repeatedly denied. Israeli occupation foreign ministry spokesman told AFP that the results of the French probe were "no surprise".
4 dec 2013
The widow of Yasser Arafat has questioned the findings of a French medical report ruling out the possibility that the late leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization was poisoned to death about a decade ago. "I'm convinced there is something wrong, and he did not die from a natural death," Suha Arafat said on Tuesday.
A team of French forensic scientists investigating Arafat’s death concluded in a leaked report earlier in the day that he has died after a “generalized infection.”
This, however, countered a previous report by Swiss forensic scientists saying last month that the tests on the Palestinian leader’s corpse showed “unexpected high activity” of polonium-210, which "moderately" supported the poisoning theory.
The Swiss experts examined Arafat’s medical records, samples taken from his remains, which were exhumed in November 2012, and items he had taken into the hospital in Paris where he died.
Arafat’s widow, who has argued that her husband’s death was a political assassination, said she had requested that the findings of the Swiss investigation be made available to French officials probing the death.
She also voiced her concern over the fact that the medical teams in Switzerland and France came from different medical fields.
"I don't doubt them. But they are different skills. They are different types of medicines," she added.
Arafat died in 2004 at the age of 75 at a Paris military hospital. French doctors said at the time that they were unable to determine the origin of his illness.
Some 60 samples were collected from the remains of Arafat in November 2012 for an investigation to determine whether he had been poisoned. The samples were divided between Swiss and Russian scientists and were also given to a French team carrying out a probe at the request of Suha Arafat.
A team of French forensic scientists investigating Arafat’s death concluded in a leaked report earlier in the day that he has died after a “generalized infection.”
This, however, countered a previous report by Swiss forensic scientists saying last month that the tests on the Palestinian leader’s corpse showed “unexpected high activity” of polonium-210, which "moderately" supported the poisoning theory.
The Swiss experts examined Arafat’s medical records, samples taken from his remains, which were exhumed in November 2012, and items he had taken into the hospital in Paris where he died.
Arafat’s widow, who has argued that her husband’s death was a political assassination, said she had requested that the findings of the Swiss investigation be made available to French officials probing the death.
She also voiced her concern over the fact that the medical teams in Switzerland and France came from different medical fields.
"I don't doubt them. But they are different skills. They are different types of medicines," she added.
Arafat died in 2004 at the age of 75 at a Paris military hospital. French doctors said at the time that they were unable to determine the origin of his illness.
Some 60 samples were collected from the remains of Arafat in November 2012 for an investigation to determine whether he had been poisoned. The samples were divided between Swiss and Russian scientists and were also given to a French team carrying out a probe at the request of Suha Arafat.
3 dec 2013
The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris: "It is unlikely we will ever get a definitive answer"
A team of French scientists probing the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 do not believe he was poisoned, according to leaks from their report.
They have reportedly concluded he died after a "generalised infection".
A previous report by Swiss scientists said tests on his body showed "unexpected high activity" of polonium.
This "moderately" supported the theory, long believed by many Palestinians, that he was poisoned, the report said.
Arafat's widow, Suha Arafat, told reporters in Paris she was "upset by these contradictions by the best European experts on the matter."
Exhumed Arafat, who led the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) 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 he was flown to a French military hospital in Paris, where he died on 11 November 2004, aged 75.
Mr 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 said.
Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the Palestinian Authority's inquiry into the death, told AFP: "We need to study the report. We can't take a position on it until we've looked at it."
Conflicting findings
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 Mr Arafat's widow Suha after his death, including his trademark keffiyeh scarf.
Mrs Arafat asked the Palestinian Authority to authorise the exhumation of his remains in order "to reveal the truth".
The Palestinian Authority granted French investigators and a team of Swiss scientists permission for the exhumation and to take samples for testing.
Russia also sent experts, and samples were sent to its Federal Medico-Biological Agency.
Mrs 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 radioactive polonium found in Mr 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 elapsed since Arafat's death, the limited samples available and the confused "chain of custody" of some of the specimens.
In November, Palestinian officials said the third report, by Russian experts, did not give "sufficient evidence" to support the decision that Mr Arafat was poisoned. However, experts who reviewed the document for al-Jazeera - which said it had obtained a copy - cast doubt on its findings.
Also on Tuesday, Mr Tirawi said he would soon name the people he believed were responsible for Mr Arafat's death.
"I promise that the next press conference will be the last and will cast into the light of day everyone who perpetrated, took part in or conspired in the matter," he told Palestine Today television, Reuters reports.
Swiss scientists' findings
A team of French scientists probing the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 do not believe he was poisoned, according to leaks from their report.
They have reportedly concluded he died after a "generalised infection".
A previous report by Swiss scientists said tests on his body showed "unexpected high activity" of polonium.
This "moderately" supported the theory, long believed by many Palestinians, that he was poisoned, the report said.
Arafat's widow, Suha Arafat, told reporters in Paris she was "upset by these contradictions by the best European experts on the matter."
Exhumed Arafat, who led the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) 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 he was flown to a French military hospital in Paris, where he died on 11 November 2004, aged 75.
Mr 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 said.
Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the Palestinian Authority's inquiry into the death, told AFP: "We need to study the report. We can't take a position on it until we've looked at it."
Conflicting findings
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 Mr Arafat's widow Suha after his death, including his trademark keffiyeh scarf.
Mrs Arafat asked the Palestinian Authority to authorise the exhumation of his remains in order "to reveal the truth".
The Palestinian Authority granted French investigators and a team of Swiss scientists permission for the exhumation and to take samples for testing.
Russia also sent experts, and samples were sent to its Federal Medico-Biological Agency.
Mrs 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 radioactive polonium found in Mr 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 elapsed since Arafat's death, the limited samples available and the confused "chain of custody" of some of the specimens.
In November, Palestinian officials said the third report, by Russian experts, did not give "sufficient evidence" to support the decision that Mr Arafat was poisoned. However, experts who reviewed the document for al-Jazeera - which said it had obtained a copy - cast doubt on its findings.
Also on Tuesday, Mr Tirawi said he would soon name the people he believed were responsible for Mr Arafat's death.
"I promise that the next press conference will be the last and will cast into the light of day everyone who perpetrated, took part in or conspired in the matter," he told Palestine Today television, Reuters reports.
Swiss scientists' findings
- Experts at the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland, conducted tests on samples taken from Yasser Arafat's exhumed body in November 2012
- The Swiss report said there were "unexpectedly high levels of polonium-210 and lead-210 activity" found in specimens taken from Arafat's ribs, pelvis and soil that absorbed his bodily fluids
- It noted a lack of adequate biological specimens, particularly soft tissues, and the eight years between death and the investigation, rendering detection subject to uncertainties
- But it concluded results "moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-210"
