Senior Palestinian official accuses Israel of Yasser's murder

A senior Palestinian official has reportedly claimed that Israel was the first and only suspect in the killing of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat nine years back, speculated to be executed with a highly radioactive substance polonium-210.

As Swiss scientists supported the theory of Arafat being poisoned with the rare substance after finding evidences, the head of a Palestinian committee investigating the leader's death, Tawfik Tirawi stressed that Arafat was killed by Israel.

Swiss and Russian scientists had taken samples from the exhumed corpse of the late Palestinian leader to find out the cause of death.

However, Dr Abdullah Bashir said that the outcome of the Russian report on the levels of the radioactive substance and the development of Arafat's illness does not give sufficient evidence to support the decision that polonium-210 caused acute radiation syndrome leading to death.

The scientist, however, pointed that the Swiss and Russian reports found large amounts of the radioactive isotope in Arafat's remains.

The Russian findings stated that its tests 'moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-210'.

Another inquiry is being carried out by the French scientists, to which there has not been any disclosure yet.

Meanwhile, Israel has vigorously denied any role in Arafat's death, saying it had politically isolated him at the time and had no reason to assassinate him.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that the Palestinians should stop this nonsense and stop raising these baseless accusations without any shadow of proof.

The investigations into the late leader's death was initiated by his widow Suha Arafat early this year, who let Swiss, Russian and French scientists to take bone and soil samples from Arafat's grave for separate investigations, the report added.