Work begins to exhume Yasser Arafat body for murder probe

Many Palestinians are convinced that Arafat, whose West Bank grave is pictured here, was poisoned by Israel.

Press TV: Work has begun to exhume the body of Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat for a murder probe eight years after his death.

According to a Palestinian source, the exhumation process, which started on Tuesday with the removal of the mausoleum's glass and its marble tombstone, could last 15 days due to the delicate work that needs to be done by hand.

"It starts with the removal of stone and concrete and cutting the iron (framework) until they reach the soil that covers the body, which will not be removed until the arrival of the French prosecutors, Swiss experts and Russian investigators," the source said.

French investigators and Swiss experts will arrive in the West Bank on November 26 to take samples from Arafat's body. Russia will also help the investigation.

The exhumation comes after French authorities opened a murder inquiry into Arafat’s death this year after Swiss scientists found traces of polonium, a radioactive substance, on some of his belongings. Polonium is a highly toxic substance rarely found outside military and scientific circles.


The inquiry was launched after Arafat's widow, Suha Arafat, lodged a formal legal complaint.

Arafat died at age 75 at a Paris military hospital after he suffered a brain hemorrhage and slipped into a coma. At the time, French authorities refused to reveal the exact cause of his death on grounds of privacy laws, fueling rumors that the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, had poisoned him.
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