Yasser Arafat 'not poisoned by Polonium'

French experts have ruled out the theory that radioactive polonium poisoning caused the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004.

The Nanterre prosecutor said that there were no traces of polonium 210 in Mr Arafat’s urine during his stay at a French military hospital prior to his death, and that any traces of the substance recorded after his exhumation were “of an environmental origin” in the tomb.

Palestinians had long suspected Israel of poisoning him, which Israel denies.

Mr Arafat’s widow filed a legal complaint in France seeking an investigation into whether he was murdered after a 2012 report said traces of radioactive polonium were found on Mr Arafat’s clothing.

French scientists looking into Mr Arafat’s death in 2013 also dismissed that theory.