Palestinians took the first steps in exhuming the late Yasser Arafat's body on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the cause of his death, a source close to the late leader's family told Agence France-Presse. "Today they started removing concrete and stones from Arafat's mausoleum, and the work will last for almost 15 days," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There are several phases." The operation to open Arafat's tomb precedes a visit by French, Swiss and Russian experts, who will run forensics tests on Arafat's remains. The operation comes amid recently raised suspicions that the Palestinian leader was poisoned with the radioactive substance polonium. "It starts with the removal of stone and concrete and cutting the iron [framework] until they reach the soil that covers the body, which will not be removed until the arrival of the French prosecutors, Swiss experts and Russian investigators," the source told AFP. The experts, who are scheduled to arrive on Nov. 26, will take samples from Arafat's remains, Palestinian Authority officials have said. "Because of Arafat's position and his status, no one will be allowed, under any circumstances, to photograph his body while the samples are taken," the source told AFP. Arafat died in a military hospital near Paris on Nov. 11, 2004. French experts present at the time were unable to say what had killed him. Many Palestinians believe Israel poisoned him. France launched a murder inquiry into the cause of Arafat's death in August after the Al-Jazeera television network broadcast an investigation in which Swiss experts said they had found high levels of radioactive polonium on Arafat's personal items.
