Iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's remains were exhumed Tuesday by international forensic experts - eight years after his death - to investigate allegations that he was poisoned. Arafat died in November 2004 in a French military hospital during which doctors could not identify the exact cause of his death.
A team of forensic experts from Russia, Switzerland and France will look for answer of the many conspiracy theories revolving around the death of Palestine's most respected leader. Experts dug out the remains from the massive mausoleum in the West Bank city of Ramallah where Arafat was buried and was later moved to a nearby mosque for doctors from Palestine to take samples from his bones, the Washington Post reported. Quoting Palestine officials, the Post said sample remains will be handed over to the international experts who will examine them in their home countries. Samples were also taken from Arafat's personal, bedroom and office belongings.
Original death reports suggested Arafat had a stroke resulting from a blood disorder. No autopsy was performed at the time at the request of his widow, Suha. However, several conspiracy theories made the rounds with the most prominent being food poisoning. A few other theories included AIDS polonium poisoning, cirrhosis or a platelet disorder. Poisoning as the cause of death became prominent after a nine-month probe by Swiss experts found traces of polonium-210 in quantities much higher than that could occur naturally on Arafat's personal belongings. The traces were found on the cloths provided by Suha who urged the French government to open a formal murder inquiry.
The move to exhume the body after so many years remains a topic of diverse opinions. Many believe the investigation will not solve the mystery as Polonium-210 decomposes rapidly and many are sceptical if the samples are sufficient enough for tests.
