The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported that Bassam Abu Sharif, former advisor to Arafat, said on a Palestinian Authority (PA) television program that he warned Arafat that Israeli officials were planning to poison him with the knowledge of the American government.
"The Israelis planned to kill him by poison, because of Sharon's promise to the Americans that [Arafat] will not be killed by bombing," Abu Sharif told Arab viewers.
"According to the confirmed information I have, [Defense Minister Sha'ul] Mofaz spoke to [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon in the following manner: 'This is an opportunity to get rid of Yasser Arafat...' Sharon was silent for a moment, and then looked [at Mofaz and said], 'Only if it would be done in a way that the accusing finger won't be pointed at Israel.' These are the exact words."
Abu Sharif also stated that France, where Arafat died after being hospitalized, knew about the alleged poisoning but hid it in order to prevent "igniting" Arabs. However, he added that "that every Palestinian will see it as his duty to avenge [the death of] Yasser Arafat."
The Associated Press (AP) described the latest PA accusations describing the alleged poisoning as "a plot reminiscent of Shakespeare's Hamlet." Arafat confidante Ahmed Abdel Rahman charged, "It was easy to poison him in the ear, because he was under siege and he used to receive a lot of people and he used to hug them to kiss them and my assumption is that the perpetrator carried a small balloon of gas and he could blow it in Arafat's ear."
Israel has denounced the PA charges as slander. "That is nonsense. That claim is totally baseless," said Israeli government spokesman David Baker. Last February's Sharm el-Sheikh accords signed by the PA included provisions of an end to incitement in PA-run media.
Arafat's wife Suha, who previously objected to an autopsy of her husband's body, has called for an international investigation into Arafat's death, according to United Press International (UPI), which quoted the official Libyan News Agency that she supported a similar call by Libyan leader Muammar Kaddafi.
In Gaza, hundreds of terrorists armed with rifles and missiles marched and shot in the air on Thursday in a call for investigation into the death of Arafat along with a demand for jobs. They defied a recent PA order against displaying weapons in public parades.
Arabs have raised the issue of poisoning ever since Yasser Arafat died on November 11 last year. Doctors never declared the cause of death but medical reports showed that he had a blood disease, possible caused by AIDS.
His personal physician, Dr. Ashraf Al Kurdi, has called for an autopsy but has made contradictory statements in interviews. He was quoted by Global Research website as stating, "We took blood samples and there were no poisons, or HIV infection." He later speculated in an interview quoted on the Arab Aljazeera web site that a virus was injected into Arafat's body to hide poisoning. Al Kurdi was denied access to Arafat the last several days of his life.
"The Israelis planned to kill him by poison, because of Sharon's promise to the Americans that [Arafat] will not be killed by bombing," Abu Sharif told Arab viewers.
"According to the confirmed information I have, [Defense Minister Sha'ul] Mofaz spoke to [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon in the following manner: 'This is an opportunity to get rid of Yasser Arafat...' Sharon was silent for a moment, and then looked [at Mofaz and said], 'Only if it would be done in a way that the accusing finger won't be pointed at Israel.' These are the exact words."
Abu Sharif also stated that France, where Arafat died after being hospitalized, knew about the alleged poisoning but hid it in order to prevent "igniting" Arabs. However, he added that "that every Palestinian will see it as his duty to avenge [the death of] Yasser Arafat."
The Associated Press (AP) described the latest PA accusations describing the alleged poisoning as "a plot reminiscent of Shakespeare's Hamlet." Arafat confidante Ahmed Abdel Rahman charged, "It was easy to poison him in the ear, because he was under siege and he used to receive a lot of people and he used to hug them to kiss them and my assumption is that the perpetrator carried a small balloon of gas and he could blow it in Arafat's ear."
Israel has denounced the PA charges as slander. "That is nonsense. That claim is totally baseless," said Israeli government spokesman David Baker. Last February's Sharm el-Sheikh accords signed by the PA included provisions of an end to incitement in PA-run media.
Arafat's wife Suha, who previously objected to an autopsy of her husband's body, has called for an international investigation into Arafat's death, according to United Press International (UPI), which quoted the official Libyan News Agency that she supported a similar call by Libyan leader Muammar Kaddafi.
In Gaza, hundreds of terrorists armed with rifles and missiles marched and shot in the air on Thursday in a call for investigation into the death of Arafat along with a demand for jobs. They defied a recent PA order against displaying weapons in public parades.
Arabs have raised the issue of poisoning ever since Yasser Arafat died on November 11 last year. Doctors never declared the cause of death but medical reports showed that he had a blood disease, possible caused by AIDS.
His personal physician, Dr. Ashraf Al Kurdi, has called for an autopsy but has made contradictory statements in interviews. He was quoted by Global Research website as stating, "We took blood samples and there were no poisons, or HIV infection." He later speculated in an interview quoted on the Arab Aljazeera web site that a virus was injected into Arafat's body to hide poisoning. Al Kurdi was denied access to Arafat the last several days of his life.