Abbas refused to help Arafat due to support for Al-Aqsa Intifada

The president of the Palestinian Authority, PLO and Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, refused to help lift the Israeli siege imposed on his predecessor Yasser Arafat due to the latter’s alleged support for the Aqsa Intifada (2000-2005), Safa revealed on Monday.

The news agency said that it has obtained secret documents about the investigation into Arafat’s death, which has been ongoing since 2010 led by senior PA security commander Tawfiq Al-Tirawi.

Apparently, Al Tirawi has acknowledged that documents related to the hearing with Arafat’s aide Mohammad Rashid, aka Khalid Islam, have been leaked. The hearing was held at the Palestine Embassy in Cyprus in 2013.

Rashid said that there was no good relationship between Abbas and Arafat at the time of the siege, when Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan were allies. Arafat’s aide asked Abbas to help lift the siege imposed on the then president, but he said that was “impossible”.

“The one who pays money for those who open fire [at the Israeli occupation], must solve his problems alone,” replied Abbas. “It is not my issue.”

According to Safa, Abbas meant that he would not help Arafat because of his alleged support for the Palestinian resistance at the beginning of Al-Aqsa Intifada.

Arafat was poisoned in 2004 by a dose of polonium, Swiss investigators concluded. Investigations have been unable to confirm who administered the poison, and how.

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