Asia

Home page

Asia

Interview: Arafat’s widow defends media report of radioactive toxin

07 July 2012 04:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The widow of ex-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Friday defended a media report saying her late husband’s death was caused by a radioactive toxin, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The investigative report, aired Wednesday by pan-Arab TV channel al-Jazeera, had no political goals, Suha Arafat told Xinhua in a phone interview from her residence in Malta.

She said she gave al-Jazeera her husband’s personal belongings for the investigative report after the Qatari satellite channel’s repeated requests, adding that the channel had pledged to have scientists and doctors examine the belongings in an advanced lab.

"This aimed to clarify and reveal the truth behind Yasser Arafat’s death," Suha said, denying that the timing of releasing the report was intended to attack officials of the Palestinian leadership. "The results of the tests came out one year later" from a Swiss lab.

"I’m not a part in any difference with anybody... My role was to gave approval for the tests in my capacity as leader Yasser Arafat’s widow," she explained.

Arafat died at a French hospital near Paris in 2004. Before that, Israel confined him for two years in his West Bank compound, where he fell sick suddenly before he was airlifted to France.

There has been no conclusive reason for his death and numerous reports suggested that Arafat was poisoned with the aid of some close companions.

Following al-Jazeera’s report, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said it was ready to exhume Arafat’s remains for an autopsy if Suha or her daughter Zahwa made the request.

"I think the information that al-Jazeera showed are very important and could be helpful in revealing the truth to the Palestinian people and the world," Suha added.

Suha handed over Arafat’s own bag to al-Jazeera. The bag contained pajamas, underwear, the hat that Arafat was wearing in his last days, a toothbrush and a sample of Zahwa’s saliva for DNA test to verify that the authenticity of the belongings.

Al-Jazeera asked Suha not to tell anybody about the investigation process "so that no obstacles would be put to foil the inquest," Suha said, adding that she did not know how al- Jazeera came up with the possibility that a radioactive isotope may have been used against Arafat.

"The Palestinian leadership has to follow up the case," she added.