French experts have ruled out a theory that Yasser Arafat
was killed by poisoning, a source close to the investigation into the
Palestinian leader's 2004 death told AFP.
"The report rules out the poisoning theory and goes in
the sense of a natural death," the source said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor said the
findings were "not a surprise."
The French experts' findings differ significantly from those
of Swiss scientists, who said last month that their research offered some
support for the suggestion Arafat was killed by polonium poisoning.
Arafat died at a French military hospital near Paris on
November 11, 2004, with doctors unable to say what killed him. At the time, an
autopsy was never carried out – at his widow's request.
But France opened a formal murder inquiry into his death in
August 2012, a month after an Al-Jazeera documentary linked his death to
polonium poisoning.
Some 60 samples were taken from Arafat's remains in November
2012 and divided between Swiss and Russian investigators and a French team
carrying out a probe at his widow's request.
The Swiss team said the test results neither confirmed nor
denied polonium was the actual source of his death, although they provided
"moderate" backing for the idea he was poisoned by the rare and
highly radioactive element.
They said the quantity of the deadly substance found on his
remains pointed to the involvement of a third party.
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