After eight years: Arafat's body exhumed this morning

Eight years after it was buried, this morning the body of former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat in Ramallah was exhumed from its grave for an investigation on account of accusations that he was poisoned. Shortly after - the body was reburied in a full military ceremony.

A group of international experts from Switzerland, France and Russia took samples of Arafat's corpse to find out if poisoned prior to his death. It is estimated that it will take between four to six months until there are test results.

In August, the French prosecution opened a murder investigation into the cause of Arafat's death. This was done following a request by Arafat's family to France, after he died in a hospital near Paris. The family says that Arafat died of polonium poisoning - a very rare and radioactive material.

Circumstances of Arafat's death made headlines in recent months, following an investigation of al-Jazeera, which revealed evidence that Arafat was poisoned. The investigation argued then, that tests made in Switzerland of his personal belongings - including his clothes, his toothbrush and keffiyeh - found abnormal levels of polonium toxin.

According to the report, Arafat's health was normal until it suddenly deteriorated on October 12, 2004.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!