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PA official admits there`s no "proof" Arafat was murdered by poisoning despite PA claims Israel poisoned him
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PA Security Forces Spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri: "Regarding the mystery of President Yasser Arafat’s death as a Martyr, this is a belief – and I’m one of those who are convinced that he was murdered by poisoning."
Wattan TV interviewer: "There is no proof."
PA Security Forces Spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri: "But the reports from Switzerland, Russia, and other states in the world didn’t provide clear proof on the matter..."
Wattan TV interviewer: "So how, did [PA] President [Abbas] and the [PA] government say a while ago: ‘'We know who murdered Arafat?'’’
PA Security Forces Spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri: "I, at least, don’t know. If someone said it, he should be asked."
Wattan TV interviewer: "There is no clear proof."
PA Security Forces Spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri: "I, at least, don’t know. The information that I have on the issue – which I don’t have the authority to disclose, because there is a committee on the issue and I’m not its spokesman. The little information that I have is that all the members of the Palestinian people are completely convinced that leader Yasser Arafat died as a Martyr by poisoning."
Wattan TV interviewer: "But there is no proof."
PA Security Forces Spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri: "But until now, I think that no one has published irrefutable proof and definite names [of those involved]."
Following PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004, the PA created the libel that Israel murdered Arafat, and it has been spreading it since. In 2012, samples were taken from Arafat’s remains and tested for poisoning by Swiss, Russian, and French teams of scientists. The Swiss team concluded that the tests were "coherent with a hypothesis of poisoning" - but a member of the team also stated that "our study did not permit us to demonstrate categorically the hypothesis of poisoning by polonium." The Russian scientists concluded that "there was insufficient evidence to support the theory that Yasser Arafat died in 2004 by polonium poisoning." [Reuters, Nov. 8, 2013] In March 2015, three French judges ruled that "it has not been demonstrated that Yasser Arafat was murdered by polonium-210 poisoning." The French prosecutor stated that there was "not sufficient evidence of an intervention by a third party who could have attempted to take his life." [France 24, Sept. 2, 2015] The French prosecutor also explained that the polonium and lead found in Arafat’s grave were “of an environmental nature.” [Jerusalem Post, March 17, 2015].
Despite these results, the PA continues to blame Israel for Arafat’s death without any backing for this claim.
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Wattan (independent Palestinian news agency)
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June 7, 2018
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(1 min)
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