Al-Jazeera: Arafat May Have Been Poisoned

Tests show that former Palestinian president Yasser Arafat may have been poisoned, Al-Jazeera reports.

Arafat’s final personal belongings contained abnormal levels of polonium — a rare, highly radioactive element, according to the network.

The tests on Arafat’s clothes, toothbrush — even his iconic kaffiyeh — suggest that a high level of polonium was inside his body when he died. 

Arafat was in good health until he suddenly fell ill on October 12, 2004, Al Jazeera reports. He died on Nov. 11, 2004 at age 75.

His personal effects were analyzed at the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland.

They were stained with Arafat’s blood, sweat, saliva and urine, according to the network.

“I can confirm to you that we measured an unexplained, elevated amount of unsupported polonium-210 in the belongings of Mr. Arafat that contained stains of biological fluids,” Dr. Francois Bochud, the institute’s director, told Al-Jazeera.

The findings resulted from a nine-month investigation by the network.

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