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.
