Report: Arafat suffered from cirrhosis

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat suffered from cirrhosis – widespread disruption of normal liver structure usually caused by alcohol abuse – although he was “a true water drinker”, the French newspaper Le Monde reported today.

Quoting medical sources familiar with Arafat’s medical file, the newspaper said “the most probable scenario is that Arafat’s death was due to multiple causes.

“His coma must have been caused by an aggravation of his hepatic system, in other words his cirrhosis, culminating in a haemorrhage.”

The 75-year-old Palestinian leader died in a Paris military hospital last week after being in a coma for a week.

His personal doctor has claimed that poisoning was a likely cause but France has refused to release details, citing privacy laws.