Israel denies Arafat murder plot
A former Israeli official has denied suspicions that the country poisoned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as France began an investigation into his possible murder.
Dov Weisglass, chief of staff to then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the time of Mr Arafat’s death in 2004 and a key participant in deliberations surrounding his worsening health, said Israel had no reason to harm the Palestinian leader. For the last two years of Mr Arafat’s life, Israel confined him to his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, accusing him of encouraging a violent Palestinian uprising at the time.
