Swiss lab finds traces of polonium on Arafat's clothing

Ramallah, West Bank, Jul 12 : The Palestinian justice minister says investigators looking into the circumstances of Yasser Arafat's death want to review reports from a Swiss lab before deciding on exhuming his remains.





Last week, the lab said it found elevated traces of a radioactive agent, polonium-210, on Arafat's clothing. The results were inconclusive, but revived speculation that he was poisoned.

Earlier this week, Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said a decision has been made to dig up Arafat's remains and test them for polonium.

But in an apparent reversal, Justice Minister Ali Mohanna told a news conference on Thursday that Palestinian officials first want to examine the full lab report.

He says after the review, “we will decide what testing we need to do.”