Arafat’s Widow Refuses to Accuse Israel of Killing Her Husband Without Evidence

Suha Arafat with her husband, Yasser Arafat (Getty Images)
Suha Arafat with her husband, Yasser Arafat (Getty Images)
TT
20

Arafat’s Widow Refuses to Accuse Israel of Killing Her Husband Without Evidence

Suha Arafat with her husband, Yasser Arafat (Getty Images)
Suha Arafat with her husband, Yasser Arafat (Getty Images)

Suha Arafat, widow of the late Palestinian Authority (PA), Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah leader Yasser Arafat, has said she was quoted out of context in a recent interview with a Hebrew newspaper.

"Arafat was definitely poisoned, not by Israel, but by a Palestinian," Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot quoted the widow as saying on Friday. In the interview, she was also quoted as saying that the 2000 Palestinian intifada was a "big mistake".

However, later in the day, she claimed she was quoted out of context and her words were misconstrued.

On her Instagram account, Arafat wrote that she does not accuse anyone, “not even Israel, of killing [him], because until now I don’t have evidence against anyone.”

She said that she did not want the issue of her husband’s death to be part of Palestinian “internal political battles.”

Arafat confirmed that she was recently interviewed for an Israeli documentary about her husband, and said that the Second Intifada was a mistake.

“I expressed my opinion that the Intifada was a mistake because we lost a lot and our war with them [Israel] was asymmetrical,” she wrote on her Instagram account. I’m not afraid of expressing my opinion,” she said.

Yediot Ahronot said that its lengthy interview with Arafat was a part of a promotion campaign for a documentary called Enemies.

It is worth noting that Arfat’s statements in the interview with the newspaper surprised and shocked many.

“I do not know who convinced him (Yasser Arafat) to carry out an intifada while he was in the midst of a peace process. I told him that he must stop Hamas attacks because they would eventually lead to a civil war. I explained that after the September 11 attacks nobody wants to see more explosions, and that people don’t want bloodshed,” Arafat told Yediot Ahronot.

“I told him: Hamas or not Hamas, you are committed to the peace process and you must stop the uprising,” she added.



Israel Carries Out Intense Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon, 1 Dead

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
TT
20

Israel Carries Out Intense Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon, 1 Dead

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Israel’s air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern Lebanon city on Friday in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted Hezbollah underground assets.

The airstrikes came in two waves on the mountains overlooking Nabatiyeh and bunker buster bombs were used, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. There was no immediate information about casualties.

Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Friday’s strikes were more intense than usual.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets struck a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defense array in the area and is part of a significant underground project that was completely taken out of use.

The Israeli army said it identified rehabilitation attempts by Hezbollah beforehand and struck infrastructure sites in the area.

There was no comment from Hezbollah.

An Israeli drone also targeted on Friday an apartment in a two-story building in Nabatiyeh.

Lebanon's health ministry said a woman was killed and 11 other people were wounded in the strike.

"The Israeli enemy strike on an apartment in Nabatiyeh led to a preliminary toll of one woman killed and 11 people wounded," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency.