Haemorrhage killed Arafat

A "MASSIVE brain haemorrhage" killed Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, last year, although it remains unclear what led to the rapid deterioration in his health, according to French medical records made public yesterday.

The records, from the Percy Military Training Hospital in Paris, where Mr Arafat died last November, offered the first independent glimpse of Arafat's final days.

Mr Arafat's wife, Suha, and Palestinian officials have never given a definitive cause of death and kept the leader's medical records a closely guarded secret. Ms Arafat also rejected calls for an autopsy.

The medical dossier was initially obtained by the New York Times and two Israeli media outlets, which conducted separate reviews of the information.

"The mystery around Yasser Arafat will only grow bigger and bigger after reading this report," said Avi Isacharoff, the Israel Radio reporter who obtained the medical records with the Israeli daily Haaretz.

The Palestinian foreign minister, Nasser al-Kidwa, a nephew of Mr Arafat and one of the few people who had access to him and his doctors in France, said the new reports shed no new light and the cause of death remains unknown.

Mr Arafat, 75, fell ill in his compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah a month before his death.

He spent his last two weeks in the French hospital.

According to French doctors, Mr Arafat developed a digestive ailment about 30 days before he died. He also suffered an "acute" case of a blood disorder, disseminated intravascular coagulation.

Senior Palestinian officials have accused Israel of poisoning their leader - an allegation Israeli officials reject.

"Israel was not in any way involved in what happened with Arafat. The Palestinians know this, the Arabs know this, Arafat's family knows this," said Silvan Shalom, the Israeli foreign minister.

"But it's always convenient for certain people to heap accusations on Israel." He urged the French doctors and Ms Arafat to make the records public.

Mr Arafat became ill with nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea after eating dinner . The symptoms continued for more than two weeks before he was evacuated to France. He died on 11 November.