Arafat files give no clear cause of death

YASSER Arafat's nephew was yesterday given the late Palestinian leader's medical records and said they give no clear diagnosis for the cause of his death.

Nasser al-Kidwa said they showed that toxicology tests appeared to rule out poisoning. At a press conference in Paris, al-Kidwa pinned some of the blame for Arafat's death on his long confinement to his West Bank compound.

"I believe the Israeli authorities are largely responsible for what happened," he said, shortly after taking possession of the medical files from French authorities.

Al-Kidwa, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, said toxicology tests were done but "no poisons known to doctors were found."

He said the files gave no clear diagnosis for the reasons of Arafat's death.