Jerusalem Post
Aide alleges Israel poisoned Arafat
Date: 11-07-04
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was poisoned by Israel, one of his advisers said Sunday.
The option is being seriously considered by the PA, which has sent blood samples to the US and Germany to confirm or rule out the option, he said.
Arafat suffers symptoms similar to those of former PFLP military leader Wadi'a Hadad, he said.
Hadad was poisoned in the late 1970s by a close aide who was allegedly recruited by the Mossad, the adviser said, although the official reason for his death was cancer.
"It took Hadad eight weeks to die... he also entered a coma", he said, "Unless they find an antidote, Arafat will die," he added.
There are four possible reasons for the breakdown of Arafat's red blood cells, and two options have been ruled out, he said.
He does not have cancer and did not take an overdose of certain medications, he added.
Poisoning is one of the two remaining possibilities, he claimed.
Other PA officials, including Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said they could not rule out that Arafat was poisoned, but said they needed to see some proof before publicly making such accusations.
Some PA officials dismissed the poisoning option.
They said it was in the PA's interest to keep Arafat on life support to allow PLO deputy Mahmoud Abbas and Qurei to run the PA.
SOURCE
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