Official PA daily op-ed: Israel poisoned Arafat with American approval
Excerpt of an op-ed by Omar Hilmi Al-Ghoul, regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: “Arafat who remains among us”
“Thirteen years have passed since the death of leader [and] symbol [former PLO and PA Chairman] Yasser Arafat. They forced him to vacate the scene and poisoned him (see note below –Ed.). The ones who were responsible for his treatment in France did not find the necessary antidote for his recovery from the premeditated murder, which was committed by the leaders of the Israeli ethnic cleansing state… [Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and the heads of his colonialist leadership are the ones who poisoned the Palestinian national symbol and murdered him, with a green light from the US.”
Click to view bulletin
Following PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004, the PA created the libel that Israel murdered Arafat, and it has been spreading it since then. Swiss, Russian, and French teams have studied these claims. In 2012, samples were taken from Arafat’s remains to be tested for poisoning, and Swiss and Russian teams afterwards published the results of their tests: The Swiss team concluded that the tests were "coherent with a hypothesis of poisoning" - but a member of the team also stated that "our study did not permit us to demonstrate categorically the hypothesis of poisoning by polonium." The Russian report concluded that "there was insufficient evidence to support the theory that Yasser Arafat died in 2004 by polonium poisoning." [Reuters, Nov. 8, 2013] In March 2015, three French judges ruled that "it has not been demonstrated that Mr. Yasser Arafat was murdered by polonium-210 poisoning." The French prosecutor stated that there was "not sufficient evidence of an intervention by a third party who could have attempted to take his life." [France 24, Sept. 2, 2015] The French prosecutor also explained that the polonium and lead found in Arafat’s grave were “of an environmental nature.” [Jerusalem Post, March 17, 2015].
Despite these results, the PA continues to blame Israel for Arafat’s death without any proof or backing for this claim.
Headline: “Arafat who remains among us”
“Thirteen years have passed since the death of leader [and] symbol [former PLO and PA Chairman] Yasser Arafat. They forced him to vacate the scene and poisoned him (see note below –Ed.). The ones who were responsible for his treatment in France did not find the necessary antidote for his recovery from the premeditated murder, which was committed by the leaders of the Israeli ethnic cleansing state… [Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon and the heads of his colonialist leadership are the ones who poisoned the Palestinian national symbol and murdered him, with a green light from the US.”
Click to view bulletin
Following PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004, the PA created the libel that Israel murdered Arafat, and it has been spreading it since then. Swiss, Russian, and French teams have studied these claims. In 2012, samples were taken from Arafat’s remains to be tested for poisoning, and Swiss and Russian teams afterwards published the results of their tests: The Swiss team concluded that the tests were "coherent with a hypothesis of poisoning" - but a member of the team also stated that "our study did not permit us to demonstrate categorically the hypothesis of poisoning by polonium." The Russian report concluded that "there was insufficient evidence to support the theory that Yasser Arafat died in 2004 by polonium poisoning." [Reuters, Nov. 8, 2013] In March 2015, three French judges ruled that "it has not been demonstrated that Mr. Yasser Arafat was murdered by polonium-210 poisoning." The French prosecutor stated that there was "not sufficient evidence of an intervention by a third party who could have attempted to take his life." [France 24, Sept. 2, 2015] The French prosecutor also explained that the polonium and lead found in Arafat’s grave were “of an environmental nature.” [Jerusalem Post, March 17, 2015].
Despite these results, the PA continues to blame Israel for Arafat’s death without any proof or backing for this claim.
» View analysis citing this item