Monday, July 9, 2012

Exhumation of Yasir Arafat’s Body Appears Unlikely


Exhumation of Yasir Arafat’s Body Appears Unlikely


Shortly after Al-Jazeera’s recent report that suggested that polonium may have poisoned Yasir Arafat, calls began to be made for Arafat’s body to be exhumed and an international investigation to be initiated.

These calls have come from the likes of Suha ArafatMohammad Rachid, Arafat’s nephew Nasser al-QudwaSamir MashharawiMohammad Dahlan, Arafat’s lawyer Bassam Abu SharifSaeb ErekatHamas, Former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, and the Tunisian government.

The Fatah Central Committee says that the Palestinian leadership is willing to cooperate to reveal the details of Arafat's death. Tawfiq Tirawi, the head of the committee in charge of investigating Arafat’s death, says the committee is waiting for the family’s approval before taking samples from Arafat’s body.

As most, if not all, members of Arafat’s family appear to support a new investigation and exhumation, is there something else preventing it?

On Wednesday, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that “There is no religious or political reason that prevents further investigation into this matter, including exhuming his body by a specialized and trusted party at the request and approval of his family.” On the same day, Saeb Erekat said that the exhumation might occur “in the coming days.”

A day later, officials close to Mahmoud Abbas began cautioning that an exhumation was not going to happen in the immediate future.
Abbas aide Nimr Hamad said Thursday that a team of experts would first be sent to Europe to learn more from the Swiss institute and from the French military hospital where Arafat died on Nov. 11, 2004.
On Friday, following a meeting with France’s President Francois Hollande, Abbas said that a new investigation would only be initiated if it was deemed to be “necessary.”

Will Arafat’s body eventually be exhumed? Possibly, though I doubt it. Will Arafat’s body be exhumed “in the coming days?” Extremely doubtful.

Update: Ma'an News Agency reports that Mahmoud Abbas asked France's Hollande "to form an international commission to investigate the death of late president Yasser Arafat, similar to the international committee which investigated the assassination of Rafiq Hariri of Lebanon."

The anti-Abbas InLightPress says that a member of the PLO Executive Committee has told them that they are skeptical that Abbas really wants to investigate the matter. According to the anonymous official, Abbas' use of the words "if necessary" are worrisome and could have repercussions in the Palestinian territories.

Update: Palestine Press reports that Saeb Erekat has said that if no international committee is formed to investigate Arafat's death, the Arab League has promised to form a "highly credible" commission.

http://challahhuakbar.blogspot.com/2012/07/exhumation-of-yasir-arafats-body.html

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