It has been eight years since the death of Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, but the political mystery behind his death has not been solved yet.
75 year-old Arafat’s death in French hospital in November 2004 became a matter of controversy, who, is allegedly said to be killed by polonium poisoning.
Five days after his body was exhumed from his grave in the West Bank city of Ramallah, it has been reported that around 60 samples were taken from the bones of the late Palestinian leader for a probe into whether he was poisoned by polonium.
A French team is carrying out a separate probe at the request of Arafat’s widow Suha, while a Russian team was appointed by the Palestinian authority.
Mangin said the investigation would take three or four months.
The remains were taken from Arafat’s mausoleum and moved to a mosque near the tomb in the Palestinian presidency’s Ramallah headquarters.
Meanwhile, Tawfiq Tirawi, the head of the Palestinian committee investigating Arafat’s death, said that Ramallah would petition the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague if it found proof that the veteran leader was poisoned.
The entire process of exhumation was carried out in a strict secrecy with Tawfiq Tirawi not allowing any journalist to be present at the spot.
After a renewed investigation into his death, Mrs Suha Arafat called the former Palestinian leader’s death “the most important mystery of the Middle East.”
Palestinian officials claim he was poisoned by Israel, which has denied the allegations.