PA TV repeats libel: Israel poisoned Arafat and should stand trial

Official PA TV program Palestine This Morning, special program for the 13th anniversary of the death of former PLO and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat

Official PA TV host: “Of course we will not forget that all these years an open issue has remained regarding the murder of late Martyr [Yasser Arafat]. Naturally all the signs show that Israel is the one that assassinated and murdered [PA] President Yasser Arafat in some way, when it reached him and poisoned him. But this issue remains on the agenda until Israel is put on trial and gives an accounting for this crime that led to the Martyrdom-death of President Yasser Arafat.
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The official PA TV studio was decorated in honor of the 13th anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death, including a logo showing Arafat alongside the number “13” with the “1” made up of the PA map of “Palestine” that presents all of Israel as “Palestine” together with the PA areas.

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 then. Swiss, Russian, and French teams have studied these claims. In 2012, samples were taken from Arafat’s remains to be tested for poisoning, and Swiss and Russian teams afterwards published the results of their tests: 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 report 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 Mr. 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 proof or backing for this claim.