Mystery lingers over cause of Arafat's death

Title:	Mystery lingers over cause of Arafat's death
Date:	13 November 2004
Author:	Daily Star staff
Agency:	Daily Star, Lebanon
Physician says poison 'highest' likelihood What did Yasser Arafat die of? With the body of the late Palestinian leader now buried in his West Bank headquarters, his cause of death and mysterious illness have become a major point of scrutiny in France, where he received final medical treatment. Officials refused to divulge the information, citing patient confidentiality under French law - and in the absence of a diagnosis, rumors have flown. Some Palestinians have speculated Israel was responsible, either indirectly by keeping 75-year-old Arafat confined in his battered Ramallah compound, or directly, through poisoning. Others, trying to piece together the puzzle from the symptoms announced before Arafat's emergency flight to a Paris military hospital on Oct. 29 and from French medical sources speaking anonymously, saw the signs of terminal cancer. Arafat's widow, Suha, has offered no elucidation, leading some to conclude that the ailment might be embarrassing if it ever became known. But an X-ray specialist who had access to Arafat's medical file told Liberation newspaper that he did not see anything sinister in the data. "It was basic medicine, there were no surprises," it quoted the unidentified doctor as saying. France's Le Figaro newspaper, close to the government of President Jacques Chirac, who personally made the decision to take in Arafat, brushed aside the official line that the Palestinian leader was suffering "gastric flu." The symptoms of stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea and the increase in white blood cells and the decline of blood platelets needed for blood clotting suggested other, more serious causes, it said. The Percy Military Hospital which treated him publicly ruled out leukemia. "However, the diagnosis of another hematological disease cannot be excluded, starting with lymphoma," a specialist told Le Figaro. Other theories were advanced cancer of the bone marrow or the bowels, possibly complicated by infections. In any case, it would probably emerge that Arafat was in an irreversible coma and had his bodily functions kept going artificially for up to a week before he was declared dead on Thursday, French media said. The days before the announcement were marked by confusion, with some French medical sources and Palestinian aides saying Arafat was effectively dead, while Suha and other Palestinian officials denied that. A spokesman for the French military's medical service, Christian Estripeau, said hours after Arafat was pronounced dead that he had "no declaration" to make on the cause. "It is not up to the defense forces' health service to reveal information given to the family." Arafat's physician, Dr. Ashraf al-Kurdi, has called for an inquiry, saying poisoning was the "highest" possible cause and urging an autopsy. "One cause of platelet deficiency is poison," said Kurdi, who examined Arafat in Ramallah two weeks ago. Although "not definitive, I believe the highest reason for Arafat's mysterious death is poisoning. Therefore, there should be an autopsy." There has been speculation Arafat could have been poisoned by Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Thursday dismissed the claims. Kurdi called the burial hasty and expressed concern about the absence of a diagnosis and the lack of an autopsy as dictated by laws and in compliance with Islamic rules, especially when suspicious death occurs.
Source:	http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=10154

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