Investigation into Arafat's death

The Palestinian parliament today decided to appoint a committee of politicians to investigate what killed long-time leader Yasser Arafat, alleging Israel involvement.

“We believe he was killed” by the Israelis, deputy parliament speaker Hassan Kreisheh said.

Israel denied the allegation.

The French hospital that treated Arafat, 75, in the weeks before he died on November 11 has not presented a clear picture ofwhat killed him.

His wife, Suha, refused an autopsy, and a Palestinian government committee set up months ago to investigate the circumstances of his death has not yet submitted a report.

Since Arafat’s death, rumours have swirled throughout the Middle East that Arafat died from either Aids or poisoning.

Many Palestinian officials insist that Israeli agents somehow poisoned him, a charge Israel denies.

Arafat’s medical records, obtained recently by two Israeli journalists who shared them with The Associated Press, cast doubt on these conspiracy theories.

French doctors who treated Arafat at Percy Military Hospital concluded he died of a “massive brain haemorrhage” after suffering intestinal inflammation, jaundice and a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC.

But the records are inconclusive about what brought about DIC, which has numerous causes ranging from infections to colitis to liver disease.

The hospital’s director, Dr Jean-Paul Burlaton, refused at the time to discuss Arafat’s medical records.

Today, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev dismissed the allegations of Israeli involvement in Arafat’s death.

“Israel has nothing to hide, and calls for full transparency of all the relevant medical material,” Regev said.

“Even that probably will not satisfy those who automatically blame Israel for every perceived grievance.”