Doctors meeting on allegations Arafat poisoned postponed

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A meeting of Arab doctors in Jordan looking into lingering suspicions that longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned was postponed on Thursday. Jordanian heart surgeon Abdullah al-Bashir said that due to the short notice, most of the doctors could not attend. Bashir, who heads the committee launched last week by the Yasser Arafat Foundation, said the meeting will be rescheduled soon, but gave no date. The 75-year-old Arafat fell violently ill in October 2004 at his West Bank compound. He was transferred to a French hospital where he died November 11, 2004. Palestinian leaders have never given a definitive cause of death, and many Palestinians accused Israel of poisoning Arafat. Israel denied the allegations.