Yasser Arafat’s nephew accuses Israel of poisoning his uncle

“We accuse Israel of killing Yasser Arafat by poisoning him with that lethal substance,” Nasser al-Qidwa told AFP, referring to polonium, traces of which were recently found on clothing worn by the ailing leader.

“Those responsible for that assassination should be held accountable and judged,” said Qidwa, who is also president of the Yasser Arafat Foundation.

Allegations that the veteran Palestinian leader, who died in a French hospital in November 2004, was poisoned were resurrected earlier this month after Al-Jazeera news channel broadcasted an investigation in which experts said
they had found high levels of polonium on his personal effects.

Polonium is a highly-toxic substance which was used to kill former Russian spy turned Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. He died after drinking a cup of tea laced with the substance at a London hotel.

Francois Bochud, head of the Institute of Radiation Physics at the University of Lausanne which conducted the tests, told Al-Jazeera that “significant polonium” had been found on Arafat’s effects, but that his remains would need
to be tested to confirm the theory that he had been poisoned.

Senior Palestinian officials have said they would agree to an exhumation of the body, which is buried in Ramallah, if the family gave its permission, and Qidwa on Thursday said they would raise no objections.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=28737

Posted by Hamza Jahangir on Jul 12 2012. Filed under Middle East, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry