PA refuses to allow France and Switzerland to exhume Arafat

Informed sources in Palestine have revealed that disagreements have arisen between the Swiss and French, on one side, and Palestinian security and medical teams on the other, regarding the proposed exhumation of the late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat. It is understood that the Palestinian Authority wants a guarantee that it will be given a copy of the test results should an exhumation and subsequent examination of Arafat’s remains take place.

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According to the Sama news agency, the Palestinian leadership has instructed Major General Tawfiq Tirawi, the officer in charge of investigating Arafat’s death, to speak to the French and Swiss. Yasser Arafat’s widow, it is alleged, has already refused to hand over any test results to the Palestinian authorities. Israel is suspected of assassinating the late Palestinian leader, possibly by poisoning him.

A delegation from the Swiss Institute of Radiation Physics at the University of Lausanne has inspected Arafat’s tomb in Ramallah, in preparation for the exhumation. Another team of forensic pathologists is due to arrive from France in the next few days.

Major General Tirawi said that it is “too early” to talk about opening Arafat’s tomb, as “talks” are still in progress.