Who Killed Arafat?

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Eight years after the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from an undiagnosed illness, an investigative process led by Al Jazeera correspondent Clayton Swisher with the cooperation and support of President Arafat’s widow, Suha, has been set in motion.  A thorough analysis of Arafat’s personal effects by the Swiss Institute for Radiation Physics discovered an abnormally high level of the radioactive substance ‘polonium-210’. This substance was used in November 2006 to assassinate Russian journalist and whistleblower Alexander Litvinekno while he was meeting former KGB officers in London. It is believed that Litvinenko’s poisoning was the work of the Russian security services (FSB).  Polonium-210, though a naturally occurring element in extremely low concentrations, is a substance used exclusively in scientific and military facilities and very difficult to detect when used in poisoning cases. It is also extremely unlikely that any person within Arafat’s entourage would have had access to polonium to carry out a poisoning.

Immediately following Arafat’s death, an investigative committee led by Tawfiq Tirawi, former head of Palestinian Intelligence, was formed. Its purpose was to look into the sudden death of the Palestinian president.

Following Al Jazeera’s enquiry, the Palestinian Authority investigative committee held a press conference. In answer to journalists who raised questions about the lack of results during the last eight years,  Mr. Tirawi stressed that “the committee was working under strenuous conditions”; he also added that “the committee did not have the financial means to conduct a proper investigation.”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with IPF columnist Nadim Souss, Suha Arafat, the widow of Yasser Arafat, stated that:

Clayton Swisher, having written many books about the Palestinian-Israeli situation, made it clear that he was here to help. He had been looking into the issue of my husband’s death for months prior to contacting me…”

Mrs. Arafat further noted that

Swisher has always been a great admirer of my husband…  I knew his investigation would be thorough and would bring about results.”

When asked about the timing of the present investigation and the fact that the discovery of polonium in Arafat’s hair samples could undermine President Abbas’s authority Mrs. Arafat affirmed that:

Both issues are completely unrelated. President Abbas has openly supported the investigation and has even approved the exhumation of President Arafat’s remains in order to figure out the cause of death.”

The Palestinian Authority had repeatedly claimed that Israel was behind Arafat’s death while also raising the question whether a Palestinian turncoat was involved. The fact is, during the initial investigation as well as the follow up, the majority of individuals who were involved (doctors, specialists…) refused to answer any questions – with the notable exception of the late Ashraf Al Kurdi, one of Arafat’s personal physicians who persistently, until his death last year, insisted that there was absolutely no valid medical reason that could have lead to Arafat’s death and that the leader was poisoned beyond any doubt – refused to answer any questions. This brought about the suspicion of foreign involvement. Was it in Israel’s interest to get rid of the Palestinian leader? The Israelis vehemently deny any involvement in this but the fact remains that the disappearance of Arafat, the most militant defender of Palestinian rights, could only benefit Israel. Other suspicions also linger on: was this the work of a foreign power who preferred to free the Middle Eastern political scene of such a cumbersome personality?

Unanswered questions still remain. But what next? What if the poisoning is confirmed after the exhumation of Arafat’s remains and the analysis of his bone samples? Would Israel come clean and claim responsibility for this assassination? This seems like quite a far-fetched prospect. However, for Palestinians, the certitude that their historical leader was assassinated would definitely help put their long struggle against Israeli occupation on track.