Al Jazeera Investigates - Killing Arafat

A world exclusive investigation tells the inside story of the fight for the facts behind Yasser Arafat's death.

Following What Killed Arafat? which led French prosecutors to open a murder inquiry, this documentary follows the struggle to convince the Palestinian Authority to allow an exhumation of Arafat's body to test for radioactive poison.

Al Jazeera's Clayton Swisher reports on the tests that led to the Swiss scientists reporting high levels of polonium Yasser Arafat's bones.

Al Jazeera Speaks to Arafat's Widow

Al Jazeera speaks to Arafat's widow

WIKI: Suha Arafat, Yasser Arafat’s widow »

Radioactive Polonium Found on Yasser Arafat's Clothing

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Swiss radiation experts have confirmed they found traces of polonium on clothing used by Yasser Arafat which 'support the possibility' the veteran Palestinian leader was poisoned.

In a report published by The Lancet, the team provide scientific details to media statements made in 2012 that they had found polonium on Arafat's belongings.

Arafat died in France on November 11 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death. No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow's request.

His remains were exhumed in November 2012 and samples taken, partly to investigate whether he had been poisoned – a suspicion that grew after the assassination of Russian ex-spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

That investigation is ongoing, conducted separately by teams in France, Switzerland and Russia. » | Edited by Harriet Alexander | Monday, October 14, 2013

Yasser Arafat's Widow Says Her Marriage Was 'A Big Mistake'

THE GUARDIAN: Suha Arafat says she tried to leave hundreds of times and would not have married if she had known what was in store

Yasser Arafat's widow has said she tried to leave her husband hundreds of times and that had she known what marriage to the Palestinian leader would be like, she would never have gone through with it.

Suha Arafat told the Turkish newspaper Sabah that she had loved her husband but the marriage "was a big mistake and I regret it". "I know there were a lot of women that wanted to marry Arafat, but he wanted only me. It was my fate," she said.

The couple married secretly in Tunisia in 1990, when Suha was 27 and Arafat 61. Their daughter Zahwa was born five years later.

Her mother had opposed the match, she said. "Later I understood why. Had I known what I would endure, I clearly wouldn't have married him … True, he was a great leader, but I was lonely."

"I tried to leave him hundreds of times, but he wouldn't let me. Everyone knows how he wouldn't permit me to leave. Especially those in his servitude, they know very well what it was like."

Suha converted from Christianity to Islam at the time of her marriage. She led an isolated life for security reasons, she said. "I had to be careful in my phone conversations because of bugging, and we were always moving from one location to another," she added. "My identity was completely destroyed." » | Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem | Sunday, February 10, 2013

Enquête: Une délégation lausannoise examine la tombe d'Arafat

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Une délégation de l’Institut de radiophysique de Lausanne est arrivée en Cisjordanie pour préparer l'exhumation de la dépouille du leader palestinien. Elle sera rejointe par des enquêteurs français et des experts suisses.

Une équipe suisse s’est rendue lundi à Ramallah pour examiner la tombe de Yasser Arafat, ont indiqué des sources officielles palestiniennes sous couvert de l’anonymat. Elle doit effectuer des prélèvements sur la dépouille du dirigeant historique palestinien.

La délégation de l’Institut de radiophysique de Lausanne est arrivée lundi à Ramallah et a discuté «des prochaines étapes» avec les ministres de la Santé et de la Justice, Hani Abdine et Ali Mhanna, ainsi que le chef de la commission d’enquête palestinienne sur la mort d’Arafat, Taoufiq Tiraoui, selon ces responsables.

La délégation a visité le mausolée où repose Yasser Arafat. Les enquêteurs français chargés d’une instruction sur la mort du dirigeant palestinien historique et les experts du laboratoire suisse sont attendus à Ramallah le 26 novembre, selon une source proche du dossier. » | ats / afp / ap/Newsnet | lundi 05 novembre 2012

France Opens Arafat Murder Investigation
The death of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is now the subject of a murder investigation. It follows an Al Jazeera documentary which revealed high levels of Polonium-210 on his clothing, the same radioactive element that killed former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko. Arafat died in a military hospital near Paris in 2004, aged 75. French prosecutors opened the investigation after a complaint lodged by Arafat's widow Suha. Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons reports from Paris.

Tunesien: Justiz erlässt Haftbefehl gegen Witwe Arafats

DIE PRESSE: Die Witwe des ehemaligen Palästinenser-Präsidenten Yasser Arafat sieht sich mit Korruptionsvorwürfen konfrontiert. Sie zeigt sich "verwundert".

Angesichts von Korruptionsvorwürfen hat die tunesische Justiz einen internationalen Haftbefehl gegen die Witwe des ehemaligen Palästinenser-Präsidenten Yasser Arafat, Suha Arafat, erlassen. Ein Sprecher des Justizministeriums in Tunis bestätigte am Montag entsprechende Presseberichte. Die Beschuldigte wies die Vorwürfe im Gespräch mit der Nachrichtenagentur AFP zurück.

In der Korruptionsaffäre geht es laut Justizkreisen um die Internationale Schule von Karthago, die Suha Arafat im Jahr 2006 zusammen mit der früheren First Lady Tunesiens, Leila Trabelsi, gegründet hatte. Beide Frauen überwarfen sich später. Im Jahr 2007 entzog der damalige tunesische Präsident Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali Suha Arafat die ihr im Jahr zuvor verliehene Staatsbürgerschaft Tunesiens und verwies sie des Landes. Daraufhin ließ sie sich in Malta nieder. » | Ag. | Montag 31. Oktober 2011

Just for Fun! : Yasser Arafat – Kiss


Dedicated to Yasser Arafat and All The Men He Loved

Just Ask Arafat
YNET NEWS: Does world remember why we needed airline security in first place?

Every time I travel overseas (and I must admit it happens often,) I undergo security checks at airports worldwide. Every time I ask myself how could it be that none of the billions of travelers who have been going the strict and annoying checks for years now dedicate a few seconds to thinking about the reason for this screening process, which has become an integral part of every flight by now. As if it’s pre-destined. Just like one needs a ticket and passport, one needs to stand in line and undergo a security check.

A whole generation (and in fact, two generations) of passengers are convinced that the need for security was born along with the first ever flight. However, we the older ones remember why every traveler now needs to undergo those checks. We also remember that many years ago we could fly from one location to another without any interruptions. The planes were slower perhaps, and there was no in-flight movie, but we could just board a plane and fly.

It is therefore odd that even those who still remember this ancient era do not think, or do not want to think, about the reason for the bothersome addition of security: The fact that one, Yasser Arafat, and the terrorist gangs he commanded, introduced the need of security checks after inventing the notion of hijacking planes for the purposes of extorting the Free World. >>> Noah Klieger | Thursday, August 06, 2009