Swiss Experts 'Don't Preclude' Arafat Poisoning

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat greets his supporters 13 September 2003 in Ramallah, West Bank. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had high levels of radioactive polonium in his body, according to a team of Swiss experts.

However, the scientists said they could not confirm that the polonium had caused his death in 2004.

Their report concluded that Arafat's remains showed levels of polonium 18 times higher than normal.

"Can we preclude polonium as cause of death? The response is clearly 'no'. Was polonium the cause of the death for certain? The answer is no, we cannot show categorically that hypothesis that the poisoning caused was this or that,” Professor Francois Bochud has told a press conference, as quoted by BBC.

The Palestinian leader died in November 2004. Palestinian officials accuse Israel of poisoning him, a claim Israel denies.