Palestinians say Israel is the ‘only suspect’ in Arafat’s ‘assassination’

The Palestinians said yesterday that Israel is the only suspect in the “assassination” of Yasser Arafat, a day after Swiss experts said tests suggested their veteran leader was killed by polonium poisoning.

“We say that Israel is the one and only suspect in the case of Yasser Arafat’s assassination, and we will continue to carry out a thorough investigation to find out and confirm all the details and all elements of the case,” said Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the Palestinian Authority’s inquiry into the death.

“This is the crime of the 21st century,” Tirawi said in the West Bank town of Ramallah. “The fundamental (goal) is to find out who is behind the liquidation of Yasser Arafat.”