Yasser Arafat's nephew refuses to rule out poisoning

Yasser Arafat's nephew refused Monday to rule out poisoning as cause of the Palestinian leader's death, even though tests had shown no trace of any known poison.

Asked if he could assure Palestinians that Arafat was not killed by poison, Nasser al-Kidwa said: "No, I cannot assure you."

"Toxicology tests were made, and no poison known to the doctors was detected," said al-Kidwa.

"We don't have proof that suggests there was poisoning. We don't have proof that there wasn't, in a definitive way," al-Kidwa said.

But when Arafat was in hospital in Paris before his death, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath told reporters that although the doctors' diagnosis had been inconclusive, "it rules out poisoning totally."

Al-Kidwa said that Arafat's medical file does not give a definite cause for Arafat's death on November 11 in a Paris military hospital.

"There is no clear diagnosis of the reason" for Arafat's death, he told a news conference.

"In all cases, I believe that the Israeli authority is largely responsible for what happened, at least because of the confinement of the late president to [his headquarters] in very bad conditions for three years."

He acknowledged that he had not had time to read the 558-page file, plus X-rays, that he said would be provided to Palestinian leaders. They have promised to disclose the cause of Arafat's death and formed an inquiry committee that includes doctors who treated him before he was flown to Paris.

Al-Kidwa, who is the Palestinian observer to the United Nations, spoke after receiving Arafat's medical records from the French hospital that treated the Palestinian leader, despite objections from Arafat's widow.

"The dossier was given to the nephew," General Christian Estripeau, a spokesman for the French military's health services, said earlier Monday.

Arafat's widow, Suha, who already has taken possession of his medical records, had threatened a legal fight to prevent other family members from obtaining them.

Mrs. Arafat's lawyers issued a statement late Sunday saying that the military hospital where her husband was treated outside Paris "would alone face the consequences" if his medical records were released to any other family members.

"Madame Arafat fully understands the diplomatic and historic reasons that exist, but that does not mean the state should be able to ignore the law," said the lawyers' statement.

Farouk Kaddoumi, the head of Fatah's central committee, told reporters in Beirut Monday that Arafat's death was the result of poisoning.

"All the tests that were performed showed that there were no illnesses and leukemia was ruled out," Kaddoumi said following a meeting with the Lebanese foreign minister Mahmoud Hammoud.

"The option that is left is poisoning," he said.

	Nasser al-Kidwa speaking to reporters at a Paris hotel on Monday, after receiving Yasser Arafat's medical file. (Reuters)