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Arafat exhumation scheduled on Tuesday
Palestinian officials said the body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is to be exhumed on Tuesday. The body is to undergo tests to find out whether his death resulted from poisoning.

According to Arafat's medical records, he had a stroke resulting from a blood disorder. But France started a murder inquiry in August after Swiss experts working with a documentary crew found radioactive polonium-210 on Arafat's personal effects.

The chief investigator Taufik al Tirawi said they had recently asked the Russians to join in the investigation because of their "historical relationship" with Moscow. It appears the Palestinians do not fully trust France and Switzerland when it comes to determining whether their former leader was murdered.

While most Palestinians are sure Arafat was murdered, there are serious questions about the validity of testing for polonium poisoning eight years after his death. The half-life of polonium is less than five months.

Once the body is taken from the tomb inside the stone-clad mausoleum, scientists from France, Switzerland and Russia will each take samples. The experts will then take these samples to their respective countries to be tested for Polonium 210 and possibly other lethal substances. Arafat's body will be reburied the same day with military honors.
Posted by: ryuge 2012-11-24
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=356751