Arafat's final illness a mystery, reports say

Yasser Arafat’s medical records do not give conclusive results on what led to the former Palestinian leader’s death, it is reported today.

A stroke was the final blow that killed Arafat, but it is not clear what disease or illness led to a deterioration in his health, The New York Times said.

The Israeli Haaretz daily newspaper cites experts as saying that Arafat died of Aids, poisoning or an illness.

It points out that the medical report stated that “a discussion among a large number of medical experts … shows that it is impossible to pinpoint a cause that will explain the combination of symptoms that led to the death of the patient”.

Arafat, 75, died in a Paris hospital on November 11.

Palestinian doctors continue to insist that Arafat was poisoned, The New York Times reported.

Arafat’s personal doctor, Ashraf al-Kurdi, who did not treat Arafat in his final weeks, said that he knew French doctors found the Aids virus in Arafat’s blood, Haaretz reported.

The virus given to Arafat by Israel was used to disguise poisoning, he said, according to the newspaper.