10 nov 2018
The 14th anniversary for the passing of President Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar) coincides on Sunday, WAFA reports.
On November 11, 2004, Arafat died at a French hospital where he was flown to after suffering from a sudden illness, following a tight and inhuman Israeli military siege of the presidential headquarters in Ramallah. video
The late president was born in Jerusalem on August 4, 1929, as “Muhammad Yasser” Abdul Ra’ouf Daoud Suleiman Arafat al-Kidwa al-Husseini. He was educated in Cairo and participated as a reservist officer in the Egyptian army, in fighting the tripartite aggression against Egypt, in 1956.
He studied at the Faculty of Engineering at Fouad I University in Cairo, and was an active member, at a young age, in the Palestinian national movement, through his activities in the Palestine Student Union, of which he later became its president.
He also joined a group of Palestinian nationalists in the founding of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fateh) in the 1950s. He was elected chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in February, 1969, after Ahmad Shuqeiri and Yehya Hammoudeh.
On November 13, 1974, Abu Ammar delivered a speech on behalf of the Palestinian people to the UN General Assembly in New York, with which he concluded: “Today, I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom-fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat: do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.”
As commander-in-chief of the Joint Command of the Palestinian Revolutionary Forces and the Lebanese Nationalist Movement, Abu Ammar spearheaded, in the summer of 1982, the battle against the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and the 88-day Israeli military siege of Beirut, which ended in an agreement that allowed the Palestinian fighters to leave the city. When journalists asked Yasser Arafat, after leaving Beirut through the sea to Tunisia, aboard a Greek ship, about his next stop, he replied, “I am going to Palestine.”
Yasser Arafat and the leadership of the PLO became guests in Tunisia, and, from there, he began to work on going to Palestine.
On October 1, 1985, Yasser Arafat miraculously escaped an Israeli raid on the Hammam al-Shat suburb of Tunis, which led to the death and wounding of dozens of Palestinians and Tunisians. In 1987, Arafat directed the first uprising, the Stone Intifada, which broke out in Palestine, against the Israeli occupiers, in December of that year. At the same time, he fought political battles at the international level for the recognition of the Palestinian people, and of their just cause and aspirations.
Following the Declaration of Independence in Algiers, on 15 November, 1988, the late leader presented, at the United Nations General Assembly, on 13 and 14 December of the same year, a Palestinian initiative for a just peace in the Middle East. The General Assembly was moved, at that time, to Geneva, after the United States had refused to grant Arafat a visa to reach New York. The initiative set the foundation for US President Ronald Reagan to initiate, on 16 September, a dialogue with the PLO, that started on 30 March 1989, in Tunis.
Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed, on September 13, 1993, in the White House, the Oslo Declaration of Principles between the PLO and the Israeli government, which allowed Yasser Arafat, the PLO leadership and resistance fighters to return to Palestine after living in exile since 1948.
On January 20, 1996, Yasser Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in general elections, and, from then, began the process of building the foundations of a Palestinian state.
However, after the failure of the Camp David negotiations, in 2000, as a result of Israeli intransigence and Yasser Arafat’s insistence to not negate Palestinian rights and constants, the second uprising, the A-Aqsa Intifada, broke out on September 28, 2000. Israeli forces and tanks besieged Arafat at his Ramallah headquarters, after accusing him of leading the Intifada. The Israeli army also invaded Palestinian cities, in an operation dubbed “Protective Shield”, and kept him under siege, in a tight space that lacked the minimum conditions for a human living, until his death on November 11, 2004.
Yasser Arafat has gone 14 years ago in body, but he left behind a legacy of struggle and a national strategy that had established for an approach followed by the founding leaders, headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
On November 11, 2004, Arafat died at a French hospital where he was flown to after suffering from a sudden illness, following a tight and inhuman Israeli military siege of the presidential headquarters in Ramallah. video
The late president was born in Jerusalem on August 4, 1929, as “Muhammad Yasser” Abdul Ra’ouf Daoud Suleiman Arafat al-Kidwa al-Husseini. He was educated in Cairo and participated as a reservist officer in the Egyptian army, in fighting the tripartite aggression against Egypt, in 1956.
He studied at the Faculty of Engineering at Fouad I University in Cairo, and was an active member, at a young age, in the Palestinian national movement, through his activities in the Palestine Student Union, of which he later became its president.
He also joined a group of Palestinian nationalists in the founding of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fateh) in the 1950s. He was elected chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in February, 1969, after Ahmad Shuqeiri and Yehya Hammoudeh.
On November 13, 1974, Abu Ammar delivered a speech on behalf of the Palestinian people to the UN General Assembly in New York, with which he concluded: “Today, I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom-fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat: do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.”
As commander-in-chief of the Joint Command of the Palestinian Revolutionary Forces and the Lebanese Nationalist Movement, Abu Ammar spearheaded, in the summer of 1982, the battle against the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and the 88-day Israeli military siege of Beirut, which ended in an agreement that allowed the Palestinian fighters to leave the city. When journalists asked Yasser Arafat, after leaving Beirut through the sea to Tunisia, aboard a Greek ship, about his next stop, he replied, “I am going to Palestine.”
Yasser Arafat and the leadership of the PLO became guests in Tunisia, and, from there, he began to work on going to Palestine.
On October 1, 1985, Yasser Arafat miraculously escaped an Israeli raid on the Hammam al-Shat suburb of Tunis, which led to the death and wounding of dozens of Palestinians and Tunisians. In 1987, Arafat directed the first uprising, the Stone Intifada, which broke out in Palestine, against the Israeli occupiers, in December of that year. At the same time, he fought political battles at the international level for the recognition of the Palestinian people, and of their just cause and aspirations.
Following the Declaration of Independence in Algiers, on 15 November, 1988, the late leader presented, at the United Nations General Assembly, on 13 and 14 December of the same year, a Palestinian initiative for a just peace in the Middle East. The General Assembly was moved, at that time, to Geneva, after the United States had refused to grant Arafat a visa to reach New York. The initiative set the foundation for US President Ronald Reagan to initiate, on 16 September, a dialogue with the PLO, that started on 30 March 1989, in Tunis.
Yasser Arafat and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed, on September 13, 1993, in the White House, the Oslo Declaration of Principles between the PLO and the Israeli government, which allowed Yasser Arafat, the PLO leadership and resistance fighters to return to Palestine after living in exile since 1948.
On January 20, 1996, Yasser Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), in general elections, and, from then, began the process of building the foundations of a Palestinian state.
However, after the failure of the Camp David negotiations, in 2000, as a result of Israeli intransigence and Yasser Arafat’s insistence to not negate Palestinian rights and constants, the second uprising, the A-Aqsa Intifada, broke out on September 28, 2000. Israeli forces and tanks besieged Arafat at his Ramallah headquarters, after accusing him of leading the Intifada. The Israeli army also invaded Palestinian cities, in an operation dubbed “Protective Shield”, and kept him under siege, in a tight space that lacked the minimum conditions for a human living, until his death on November 11, 2004.
Yasser Arafat has gone 14 years ago in body, but he left behind a legacy of struggle and a national strategy that had established for an approach followed by the founding leaders, headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
25 jan 2018
Former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon was planning on assassinating Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman Yasser Arafat in the 1980s and gave orders to down commercial passenger planes, according to a New York Times Magazine article published last Tuesday.
In the book, “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations,” investigative reporter Ronen Bergman writes that Israel intended to bomb a plane Arafat was aboard in 1982.
Bergman detailed years of abortive Israeli attempts to kill Arafat. The PLO leader evaded bombings and military operations, either through secret means or because the Israeli military called the attempts off for unknown reasons. Arafat finally died in 2004 at age 75.
In one of those assassination plans, Bergman reports that Sharon ordered Israeli agents to plant a “massive set of bombs” under a VIP area at a stadium in Beirut, where the PLO was set to hold a celebration. The explosives were in place, and “with the push of one button, they would achieve the destruction of the entire Palestinian leadership.”
But the plan was called off after senior officials voiced concerns to then-Israeli premier Menachem Begin.
In another plan, Sharon considered downing commercial flights that Arafat was scheduled to be aboard, according to the article, citing three Israeli officers familiar with the plot:
“When Mossad reported that Arafat was flying more commercial flights, with the PLO often buying the entire first-class or business-class cabin for him and his aides, Sharon decided that such flights would be legitimate targets. The plane would have to be shot down over the open sea, far from the coast, so that it would take investigators a long time to find the wreckage and establish whether it had been hit by a missile or had crashed because of engine failure.”
In 1982 particularly, Sharon, then war minister, gave orders to shoot down an aircraft he believed Arafat was aboard. The air force, acting on information from the Mossad intelligence service, hesitated and soon realized the plane was not carrying Arafat, but his younger brother, Fathi. The passengers also included 30 injured Palestinian children, survivors of the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacre a month after the end of the first Lebanon war.
“Since World War II, Israel has used assassination and targeted-killing more than any other country in the West, in many cases endangering the lives of civilians,” Bergman wrote.
In the book, “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations,” investigative reporter Ronen Bergman writes that Israel intended to bomb a plane Arafat was aboard in 1982.
Bergman detailed years of abortive Israeli attempts to kill Arafat. The PLO leader evaded bombings and military operations, either through secret means or because the Israeli military called the attempts off for unknown reasons. Arafat finally died in 2004 at age 75.
In one of those assassination plans, Bergman reports that Sharon ordered Israeli agents to plant a “massive set of bombs” under a VIP area at a stadium in Beirut, where the PLO was set to hold a celebration. The explosives were in place, and “with the push of one button, they would achieve the destruction of the entire Palestinian leadership.”
But the plan was called off after senior officials voiced concerns to then-Israeli premier Menachem Begin.
In another plan, Sharon considered downing commercial flights that Arafat was scheduled to be aboard, according to the article, citing three Israeli officers familiar with the plot:
“When Mossad reported that Arafat was flying more commercial flights, with the PLO often buying the entire first-class or business-class cabin for him and his aides, Sharon decided that such flights would be legitimate targets. The plane would have to be shot down over the open sea, far from the coast, so that it would take investigators a long time to find the wreckage and establish whether it had been hit by a missile or had crashed because of engine failure.”
In 1982 particularly, Sharon, then war minister, gave orders to shoot down an aircraft he believed Arafat was aboard. The air force, acting on information from the Mossad intelligence service, hesitated and soon realized the plane was not carrying Arafat, but his younger brother, Fathi. The passengers also included 30 injured Palestinian children, survivors of the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacre a month after the end of the first Lebanon war.
“Since World War II, Israel has used assassination and targeted-killing more than any other country in the West, in many cases endangering the lives of civilians,” Bergman wrote.
10 nov 2017
Thousands of Palestinians, yesterday, held rallies in the West Bank city of Ramallah to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the death of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Thousands of Palestinians joined a rally, organized by Fateh and other Palestinian factions, to mark this anniversary, carrying portraits of Arafat, waiving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans celebrating Arafat’s life.
According to WAFA correspondence, the rally started from Ramallah Secondary Boys School, roaming the main street towards the presidential headquarters (Muqata’a), where senior officials laid wreaths at Yasser Arafat’s mausoleum.
Addressing the rally on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, Deputy Fatah Chairman Mahmoud al-Aloul said: “Not only was Yasser Arafat the leader who inspired the Palestinian revolution, but also the one who inspired liberation movements worldwide.”
He stressed: “We will remain committed to our independent decision. We could not accept ]any solution[ unless it commensurate with the Palestinian people’s ]national aspirations[.”
He expressed the Palestinian leadership’s rejection of any talk about achieving “the deal of the century in the Middle East” as well as any other ideas and proposals that are not based on the Palestinian people’s right to attain freedom and independence.
He reaffirmed the Palestinian leadership’s ongoing efforts to restore national unity and stressed the need that all ]Palestinian[ factions commit to the independent Palestinian decision.
Member of PLO Executive Committee Wassel Abu Yousef expressed the Palestinian leadership and people’s firm attachment to Arafat’s ideals and values and to the realization of their inalienable rights, including the right to establish an independent state on their national soil with East Jerusalem as its capital.
This came as Palestinian students held activities to mark this anniversary across West Bank schools.
In Hebron, Israeli forces disrupted the commemoration of the death of late iconic Palestinian leader.
Large number of troops surrounded a number of schools in Hebron, preventing students from exiting and firing tear gas canisters at students and civilian homes, causing several to suffocate.
However, the main anniversary commemoration activity will be held in Gaza on Saturday November 11, the same day Arafat died 13 years ago at a Paris hospital where he was rushed following deterioration on his health after being under Israeli military siege at his Ramallah headquarters for months.
The Gaza rally, made possible after the recent reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, is going to be held at the Saraya grounds.
A cultural activity is also planned for Friday evening by the Yasser Arafat Foundation at the Ramallah Cultural Palace, where winners of the Yasser Arafat Achievement Award will be announced.
Thousands of Palestinians joined a rally, organized by Fateh and other Palestinian factions, to mark this anniversary, carrying portraits of Arafat, waiving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans celebrating Arafat’s life.
According to WAFA correspondence, the rally started from Ramallah Secondary Boys School, roaming the main street towards the presidential headquarters (Muqata’a), where senior officials laid wreaths at Yasser Arafat’s mausoleum.
Addressing the rally on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, Deputy Fatah Chairman Mahmoud al-Aloul said: “Not only was Yasser Arafat the leader who inspired the Palestinian revolution, but also the one who inspired liberation movements worldwide.”
He stressed: “We will remain committed to our independent decision. We could not accept ]any solution[ unless it commensurate with the Palestinian people’s ]national aspirations[.”
He expressed the Palestinian leadership’s rejection of any talk about achieving “the deal of the century in the Middle East” as well as any other ideas and proposals that are not based on the Palestinian people’s right to attain freedom and independence.
He reaffirmed the Palestinian leadership’s ongoing efforts to restore national unity and stressed the need that all ]Palestinian[ factions commit to the independent Palestinian decision.
Member of PLO Executive Committee Wassel Abu Yousef expressed the Palestinian leadership and people’s firm attachment to Arafat’s ideals and values and to the realization of their inalienable rights, including the right to establish an independent state on their national soil with East Jerusalem as its capital.
This came as Palestinian students held activities to mark this anniversary across West Bank schools.
In Hebron, Israeli forces disrupted the commemoration of the death of late iconic Palestinian leader.
Large number of troops surrounded a number of schools in Hebron, preventing students from exiting and firing tear gas canisters at students and civilian homes, causing several to suffocate.
However, the main anniversary commemoration activity will be held in Gaza on Saturday November 11, the same day Arafat died 13 years ago at a Paris hospital where he was rushed following deterioration on his health after being under Israeli military siege at his Ramallah headquarters for months.
The Gaza rally, made possible after the recent reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, is going to be held at the Saraya grounds.
A cultural activity is also planned for Friday evening by the Yasser Arafat Foundation at the Ramallah Cultural Palace, where winners of the Yasser Arafat Achievement Award will be announced.
Dozens of Palestinians and foreign activists on Friday choked on teargas after Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) suppressed the peaceful weekly march in Bilin town, near Ramallah, against settlement and the Separation Wall.
The march kicked off after Friday prayer in commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the assassination of the late president Yasser Arafat.
The coordinator of the Popular Committees against Settlement and the Separation Wall in Bilin, Abdulla Abu Rahma, pointed out that Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters towards the participants leading to breathing problems among many of them.
The Palestinians along with the activists managed to remove the metal gate of the wall which has been used by IOF soldiers to target the participants of the weekly march in the town. They also destroyed some tents used by the IOF to monitor the inhabitants and arrest the youth activists in the town.
The march kicked off after Friday prayer in commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the assassination of the late president Yasser Arafat.
The coordinator of the Popular Committees against Settlement and the Separation Wall in Bilin, Abdulla Abu Rahma, pointed out that Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters towards the participants leading to breathing problems among many of them.
The Palestinians along with the activists managed to remove the metal gate of the wall which has been used by IOF soldiers to target the participants of the weekly march in the town. They also destroyed some tents used by the IOF to monitor the inhabitants and arrest the youth activists in the town.
9 nov 2017
Israeli soldiers invaded, on Thursday evening, the village of Nabi Saleh, northwest of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, shot and injured one child and abducted a young man.
Media sources said the soldiers fired live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs at many youngsters, who protested the invasion.
They added that one child was shot with rubber-coated bullets in the lower part of his body, and was moved to a nearby hospital.
Furthermore, the soldiers abducted a young man, and took him to an unknown destination.
The incidents took place after several army jeeps invaded Nabi Saleh and attacked dozens of Palestinians commemorating the thirteenth anniversary of the death of late President Yasser Arafat.
In related news, the soldiers closed a military roadblock near Ya’bad town, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, for more than four hours, reportedly after local youths hurled stones at them.
The soldiers then detained two children while walking nearby, and held them for several hours.
Media sources said the soldiers fired live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs at many youngsters, who protested the invasion.
They added that one child was shot with rubber-coated bullets in the lower part of his body, and was moved to a nearby hospital.
Furthermore, the soldiers abducted a young man, and took him to an unknown destination.
The incidents took place after several army jeeps invaded Nabi Saleh and attacked dozens of Palestinians commemorating the thirteenth anniversary of the death of late President Yasser Arafat.
In related news, the soldiers closed a military roadblock near Ya’bad town, southwest of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, for more than four hours, reportedly after local youths hurled stones at them.
The soldiers then detained two children while walking nearby, and held them for several hours.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers surrounded many, Thursday, schools in the Old City of Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, and prevented students and staffers from entering them, in an attempt to stop planned commemorations of late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Aref Jaber, a local human rights activist, said dozens of soldiers surrounded a school, near Keryat Arba’ illegal colony, before preventing students, their families and teachers from entering it.
He added that the Palestinians eventually managed to enter the school, despite the extensive military deployment.
The soldiers also surrounded the al-Hajiriya School, and Hebron Elementary School, in the southern area of Hebron city, prevented the students from entering them, and fired many gas bombs, causing many Palestinians, mainly children, to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation.
Aref Jaber, a local human rights activist, said dozens of soldiers surrounded a school, near Keryat Arba’ illegal colony, before preventing students, their families and teachers from entering it.
He added that the Palestinians eventually managed to enter the school, despite the extensive military deployment.
The soldiers also surrounded the al-Hajiriya School, and Hebron Elementary School, in the southern area of Hebron city, prevented the students from entering them, and fired many gas bombs, causing many Palestinians, mainly children, to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation.
27 nov 2016
The committee in charge of investigating Yaser Arraft’s death is to submit its report to the Seventh Conference of the Fateh movement, which will held on 29 November, according to Naser al-Qedwa, a member of Fateh’s Central Committee.
He said, to Ayyam newspaper, that the committee will report the security breaches which led to Arafat’s assassination.
He further explained, according to Al Ray, that this does not exempt Israel from the basic political and criminal responsibility regarding the assassination.
He added that Fateh believes in its internal strength and does not think that any side could harm the movement.
He noted that, even though the core of the seventh conference is to discuss the steps of achieving the national independence and institution-building, it still has to answer to many important institutions regarding the political situation.
He stressed the importance of involving young people in the committee, but keeping contact with previous experience in order to get use of these experiences, from the medium to the long term.
He said, to Ayyam newspaper, that the committee will report the security breaches which led to Arafat’s assassination.
He further explained, according to Al Ray, that this does not exempt Israel from the basic political and criminal responsibility regarding the assassination.
He added that Fateh believes in its internal strength and does not think that any side could harm the movement.
He noted that, even though the core of the seventh conference is to discuss the steps of achieving the national independence and institution-building, it still has to answer to many important institutions regarding the political situation.
He stressed the importance of involving young people in the committee, but keeping contact with previous experience in order to get use of these experiences, from the medium to the long term.
11 nov 2016
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday unveiled his knowledge of who killed late president Yasser Arafat, but he stopped short of giving names.
Abbas made his remarks in a speech in front of a massive crowd of citizens in Ramallah city, where they rallied to mark the 12th anniversary of Arafat’s death.
“You ask me who killed him, I know, but my testimony alone is not enough.”
“An inquiry commission is digging into that, but you will find out at the earliest opportunity and be amazed when you know who did it,” he said.
“I do not want to mention names because these names do not deserve to be remembered,” he added.
Arafat died on November 11, 2004, at a hospital near Paris from unknown causes at age 75.
His family and people believe that there was someone on the inside who helped Israel poison him.
Abbas made his remarks in a speech in front of a massive crowd of citizens in Ramallah city, where they rallied to mark the 12th anniversary of Arafat’s death.
“You ask me who killed him, I know, but my testimony alone is not enough.”
“An inquiry commission is digging into that, but you will find out at the earliest opportunity and be amazed when you know who did it,” he said.
“I do not want to mention names because these names do not deserve to be remembered,” he added.
Arafat died on November 11, 2004, at a hospital near Paris from unknown causes at age 75.
His family and people believe that there was someone on the inside who helped Israel poison him.
3 mar 2016
The leader of Israel’s Joint Arab List party has accused the Israeli government of murdering Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004, Haaretz reports.
Ayman Odeh, in a recent interview, accused the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service (the Israeli equivalent of the FBI) of being behind the death of the Palestine Liberation Organization founder’s death at age 75.
According to World Bulletin/Al Ray, Odeh made the allegation during an interview on Israel’s Channel 2, saying that, when Avi Dichter -- now a Likud Knesset member -- was head of the Shin Bet, he “sent the people” who murdered Arafat.
A panel of French judges, in September, closed a case pressed by Arafat’s widow, Suha, which pointed to Israel for Arafat's poisoning. The court ruled that there was “a lack of sufficient evidence to continue the investigation.”
The autopsy report published after Arafat’s death listed the immediate cause as a massive brain hemorrhage resulting from an infection.
Odeh was being interviewed following a Knesset committee session about proposed legislation which would allow Knesset members to expel colleagues for “inappropriate” behavior.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed the legislation after three Arab members of the Knesset outraged many Israelis by visiting with the families of Palestinians who were killed by Israeli soldiers.
Asked about the allegation that members of Joint Arab List supported terrorism, Odeh said: “People who murdered Arabs with their own hands are sitting in the Knesset.”
At the end of the interview he was asked if he wanted to withdraw the allegation, Odeh said, “They sent the people to murder the leadership of the Palestinian people … Take Dichter, for instance,” he said. “He sent the people who murdered Arafat and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.”
Yassin and Rantisi were two leaders of Hamas who Israel killed in separate raids in Gaza in 2004.
Ayman Odeh, in a recent interview, accused the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service (the Israeli equivalent of the FBI) of being behind the death of the Palestine Liberation Organization founder’s death at age 75.
According to World Bulletin/Al Ray, Odeh made the allegation during an interview on Israel’s Channel 2, saying that, when Avi Dichter -- now a Likud Knesset member -- was head of the Shin Bet, he “sent the people” who murdered Arafat.
A panel of French judges, in September, closed a case pressed by Arafat’s widow, Suha, which pointed to Israel for Arafat's poisoning. The court ruled that there was “a lack of sufficient evidence to continue the investigation.”
The autopsy report published after Arafat’s death listed the immediate cause as a massive brain hemorrhage resulting from an infection.
Odeh was being interviewed following a Knesset committee session about proposed legislation which would allow Knesset members to expel colleagues for “inappropriate” behavior.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed the legislation after three Arab members of the Knesset outraged many Israelis by visiting with the families of Palestinians who were killed by Israeli soldiers.
Asked about the allegation that members of Joint Arab List supported terrorism, Odeh said: “People who murdered Arabs with their own hands are sitting in the Knesset.”
At the end of the interview he was asked if he wanted to withdraw the allegation, Odeh said, “They sent the people to murder the leadership of the Palestinian people … Take Dichter, for instance,” he said. “He sent the people who murdered Arafat and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.”
Yassin and Rantisi were two leaders of Hamas who Israel killed in separate raids in Gaza in 2004.
