RAMALLAH, Palestinian officials said on Saturday they would the body of their leader Yasser Arafat next week to see if Israel poisoned him with a Russian-produced radioactive isotope killed.
The controversial announcement came as a group of international experts arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah to take samples of the remains of the iconic leader bones and clothing for further study in European laboratories.
"The Tomb will be opened on the same day (Tuesday) and experts find samples within a matter of a few hours," Tawfiq Tirawi told reporters in Ramallah.
He said that a reburial ceremony will take place with full military honours later the same day in mausoleum in the heart of his Muqataa headquarters.
Members of the family had previously indicated that the excavation would probably go on Monday.
Tirawi did not explain the apparent delay while stresses the procedure was painful but necessary the truth of allegations that have poisoned the iconic Palestinian leader by Israel.
"27 November will be one of the most painful days of my life for personal reasons as well as patriotic, political and religious nature," said the Palestinian research chef.
"But it is necessary to get to the painful truth behind Yasser Arafat is dead." Tirawi added that members of his Commission remained convinced that Israel had used the radioactive element polonium to kill Arafat — to kill Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko the same POISON in London in 2006.
"If patriotic Palestinians, we remain convinced that the Israelis killed president Arafat, and on the level of research we have clues leads in this direction," he said.
Rumors and speculations have surrounded the death of Arafat since a rapid deterioration of his condition saw him pass away in the military hospital of Percy in suburbs of Paris in November 2004 at the age of 75 years. French doctors were unable to say what killed him and a post-mortem was never carried out.
But many Palestinians believed he was poisoned by Israel — a theory that gained ground in July when Al-Jazeera reported Swiss findings abnormal quantities of the radioactive substance polonium which Arafat personal belongings.
France followed that until the end of August by opening a formal murder investigation at the request of his widow.
The experts will Tuesday operation under Palestinian command originate from Switzerland and Russia. She accompanies three French criminal investigators who also samples back home to Paris will take.
Tirawi said results of the analysis of the samples will be carried out in all three countries.
But he added that no additional investigative work — including interviews with witnesses who may be required by Paris researchers — will be carried out by or in the presence of representatives of the Palestinian Government.
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