Doctors to discuss possible Arafat poisoning

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WASHINGTON (JTA) — Arab doctors were scheduled to meet to investigate suspicions that Yasser Arafat’s death was caused by poisoning.

Jordanian heart surgeon Abdullah al-Bashir told The Associated Press that Thursday’s meeting would involve seven or eight doctors, many of whom treated Arafat while he was ill. Israel has denied any role in the Palestinian leader’s death.

French doctors ruled that the 2004 death of Arafat was caused by a massive brain hemorrhage, but his widow refused an autopsy and Palestinian leaders have never officially declared a cause of dath.

The French medical team said Arafat also was suffering from intestinal inflammation, jaundice and a blood condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, but could not explain a cause for that "group of syndromes," the AP reported.

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