Israel poisoned the late Yasser Arafat with the lethal radioactive substance polonium, a nephew of the veteran Palestinian leader alleged on Thursday. But Israel denied the accusation, saying it was “not involved” in Arafat’s death at a French hospital in November 2004. “We accuse Israel of killing Yasser Arafat by poisoning him with that lethal substance,” Nasser al-Qidwa told AFP, referring to polonium, traces of which were recently found on clothing worn by the ailing leader. “Those responsible for that assassination should be held accountable and judged,” said Qidwa, who is also president of the Yasser Arafat Foundation. Allegations that the longtime Palestinian leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was poisoned were resurrected earlier this month after Al-Jazeera news channel broadcast an investigation in which experts said they had found high levels of polonium on his personal effects. Polonium is a highly-toxic substance which is rarely found outside military and scientific circles. The radioactive substance was used to kill former Russian spy turned Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London in 2006 shortly after drinking a cup of tea laced with the poison. But a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completely rejected Qidwa’s charge, denying any involvement in the ailing 75-year-old’s death.
