Palestinian Inquiry Into Arafat's Death

The Palestinian leadership is to send a delegation to Paris in an attempt to establish the cause of Yasser Arafat's death last week amid a growing belief among Palestinians that he was poisoned by Israel.

The dispatch follows France's refusal to permit Palestinian officials to see Arafat's medical records on the grounds of confidentiality. The hospital says it will only give them to Arafat's widow, Suha, who has refused to reveal their contents.

French authorities have said Arafat, 75, was not poisoned but they have not explained his death. "The conditions surrounding the death of President Yasser Arafat raise questions," said the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia.

Rumours that Arafat was poisoned took hold during the two weeks he was in France, with conflicting accounts emerging about the state of his health.

They gained ground again after Arafat's personal physician, Ashraf Kurdi, told the Arab press he believed tests on the Palestinian leader's blood raised the possibility he was poisoned.

Yesterday Le Monde quoted doctors as saying Arafat had suffered from an unusual blood disease and a liver problem.