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15 Years Later, No Information about Arafat ‘Poisoning’

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who succeeded Arafat, laid a wreath at his tomb at a ceremony in Ramallah Photo: AFP / ABBAS MOMANI
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who succeeded Arafat, laid a wreath at his tomb at a ceremony in Ramallah Photo: AFP / ABBAS MOMANI
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15 Years Later, No Information about Arafat ‘Poisoning’

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who succeeded Arafat, laid a wreath at his tomb at a ceremony in Ramallah Photo: AFP / ABBAS MOMANI
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who succeeded Arafat, laid a wreath at his tomb at a ceremony in Ramallah Photo: AFP / ABBAS MOMANI

The Palestinians, once again, and despite the lack of conclusive evidence after 15 years of investigations, accused Israel of assassinating the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat by poisoning him.

“It is not easy to get into the details of the assassination of martyr Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar), but the settled issue is that Israel has poisoned him, but how this was done remains a mystery we are looking to resolve, ”PLO Executive Committee member [and Fatah Central Committee member] Azzam Al-Ahmad said.

He also confirmed that 15 years after forming the investigatory committee, there is no final breakthrough in the investigations on Arafat's death.

Arafat died in a French military hospital in Paris on November 11, 2004, after his health deteriorated suddenly. The inquiry into the circumstances of Arafat's death has not been made public yet.

It is worth noting that Brigadier-General Tawfik al-Tirawi led the investigations into Arafat’s death.

The assigned committee had summoned and interrogated close security men surrounding Arafat and tested on samples from the remains to see whether the leader was poisoned or not.

Speaking on the committee’s efforts to reach the truth about Arafat’s death, Tirawi said they were tireless in working to get the results on the assassination.

Palestinians on Monday had commemorated the 15th anniversary of the death of Arafat.

Hundreds marched through West Bank's Ramallah city at noon towards the mausoleum of Arafat, raised flags of the Fatah party and Palestine, and chanted slogans describing him as "the immortal leader" and the "spark of the Palestinian revolution."

An official commemoration ceremony was led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the mausoleum, where he laid a wreath of flowers on Arafat's grave.

After that, Abbas addressed the public, highlighting Arafat's role in the Palestinian Declaration of Independence that was adopted by the PLO and declared on Nov. 15, 1988.

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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.