Palestinians receive Yasser Arafat test results
Report determining cause of leader's 2004 death to be studied before being made public
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The commission probing the death of Yasser Arafat has received long-awaited test results from a Swiss laboratory, a Palestinian official said Tuesday.
Tawfik Tirawi said the report was received Tuesday in Geneva. He said the results will be studied before they are made public.
The longtime Palestinian leader died at a French hospital in 2004, but the cause of death has never been determined. Many Palestinians believe Israel poisoned Arafat, an allegation that Israel denies.
Last year, a Swiss lab discovered traces of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope, on clothes provided by Arafat’s widow, Suha Arafat. More samples were subsequently taken from his remains in the West Bank.
Polonium disintegrates rapidly, and experts have cautioned that too much time may have passed to reach a conclusive result.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.