While the Israeli media made much of Arafat's leaked media records, Palestinians are apathetic, even resigned to the worst, writes Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank Leaked medical records have failed to resolve the mystery of Yasser Arafat's death. The long-time Palestinian leader died in Paris 11 November 2004 after a brief illness. According to documents surfacing this week, Arafat died of a massive brain haemorrhage caused by a blood condition known as Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. Arafat was also suffering from an intestinal inflammation and symptoms of jaundice. The medical records, however, fail to establish a definite cause and effect relationship between the intestinal inflammation and the brain haemorrhage. One French doctor was quoted as saying that, "consultations with experts and laboratory tests couldn't help find a cause that would explain these symptoms." The records were reportedly leaked to Israeli reporters by what the Israeli newspaper Haaretz called "two high- ranking" PA officials. It is not clear how the two officials were able to obtain the records, or why they chose Israeli journalists over Palestinian journalists as their channel to the outside world. The Israeli press -- eager to grab any opportunity of vilifying the late Palestinian leader -- claimed that Arafat might have died of AIDS. There was nothing, however, in the medical records that would suggest Arafat died of AIDS. Indeed, American and European presses, including The New York Times, contradicted the AIDS canard, while everyone based their conclusions on the same medical records. The New York Times reported that Arafat died of a massive stroke, while ruling out the AIDS and poisoning hypotheses. It quoted doctors as saying that Arafat did not suffer extensive kidney and liver damage, the usual symptoms of poisoning. Second, AIDS was unlikely due to the sudden onset of the intestinal illness. Speculation notwithstanding, Arafat's personal physician, Ashraf Al-Kurdi, told Al-Ahram Weekly on Tuesday that he believed "the whole truth about Arafat's illness and death has not been told." Al-Kurdi asserted that Arafat had the AIDS virus, HIV, in his blood. However, he said he strongly believed that the virus was injected into Arafat's blood circulation, "to cover up the poisoned substance which killed him." Al-Kurdi said he couldn't explain the dramatic and rapid deterioration in Arafat's health after he had dinner with some of his aides on 12 October, a month prior to his death. Al-Kurdi, a famed cardiologist, said it was up to the PA to tell the Palestinian people and the world of the real causes of Arafat's death. Stopping short of accusing the PA of covering up the facts regarding Arafat's death, Al-Kurdi, when asked certain questions, frequently replied, "Ask the PA." The PA did form an enquiry committee to establish the causes of Arafat's death. However, this committee is yet to release any findings, and some sources in Ramallah have doubted the seriousness of the committee. Adding fuel to speculation -- as well as obstacles to the committee's work -- Arafat's wife, Soha, had refused to permit an autopsy to be performed on Arafat's body, forcing investigators to rely on rumours and inconclusive evidence. Meanwhile, some of Arafat's former colleagues seem completely convinced that the late Palestinian leader was poisoned by Israeli agents. "They poisoned him, I have no doubt about this," said Sakhr Habash, a veteran member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council. "This is not the first time they do it. They previously poisoned (Hamas politburo chief) Khaled Mashal, and had it not been for King Hussein who forced Israel to bring the antidote, Mashal would have died," he added. Reacting to the poisoning theory, revived by Al-Kurdi, Israeli officials have denied any wrongdoing. "Israel was not in any way involved in what happened with Arafat. The Palestinians know this, the Arabs know this, Arafat's family knows this," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. "This matter is inflammatory and I think it is important that it be taken off the agenda immediately," he added. For the vast majority of ordinary Palestinians, and also for most PA officials, the widespread belief among Palestinians that Israel killed Arafat has not translated into any serious preoccupation with the affair. In other words, the Palestinian nation as a whole is not very enthusiastic about -- or even interested in -- unravelling the mystery of Arafat's death. Part of this apathy is probably related to the quiet realisation on the part of most Palestinians that it really wouldn't make a big difference if it were proven that Israel killed Arafat. One Palestinian schoolteacher scoffed at the media fanfare regarding the released medical records. "I can't understand why people are so excited about the possibility that Israel killed Arafat. Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of political leaders. Israel is our enemy and our gravedigger. Why wouldn't they kill him?"
