Yasser Arafat was poisoned, says doctor

Ramallah: Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died after consuming an unknown poison, a Jordanian doctor claimed on Thursday.

Arafat's medical reports suggest that he was poisoned by a toxic substance, but it was not examined at that time, Xinhua quoted Abdullah al-Basheer as saying.

Al-Basheer, who launched an inquiry into the case, was speaking to reporters in West Bank.

Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat's successor, ordered a probe after al-Jazeera TV concluded in an investigative report that Arafat was poisoned with radioactive polonium.

To confirm the report, Arafat's body needs to be exhumed for tests. The Palestinian leadership said it is ready to dig up Arafat's remains for the probe.

Arafat died at a French hospital near Paris, three weeks after he was airlifted from his West Bank headquarters, where he spent his last two years.