A Palestinian probe says that the Zionist entity is the only suspect in the death of the former Palestinian Authority Chief Yasser Arafat, after laboratory tests suggested he died from polonium poisoning.

A Palestinian probe says that the Zionist entity is the only suspect in the death of the former Palestinian Authority Chief Yasser Arafat, after laboratory tests suggested he died from polonium poisoning.

"We say that Israel is the prime and only suspect in the case of Yasser Arafat's assassination, and we will continue to carry out a thorough investigation to find out and confirm all the details and all elements of the case," Palestinian inquiry chief Tawfiq Tirawi told a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Tirawi said the Palestinian inquiry had studied the findings of Swiss scientists, released Wednesday, which "moderately supported the notion” that Arafat had been poisoned.

"This is the crime of the 21st century," Tirawi said. "The fundamental (goal) is to find out who is behind the liquidation of Yasser Arafat."

Meanwhile, Palestinian justice minister Ali Mhanna urged France to send findings from its investigation into the death of Arafat.
"We've so far received no response from the French side. We've sent a letter to the French demanding they accelerate the sending of results and we're still waiting," Mhanna told a news conference in Ramallah.

Earlier on Thursday, Palestinian officials demanded an international inquiry into Arafat's killing.
"The results prove Arafat was poisoned by polonium," said senior Palestine Liberation Organization official Wasel Abu Yusef.

"This substance is owned by states, not people, meaning that the crime was committed by a state," he told AFP, calling for an "international committee" to probe the killing along the lines of the one that investigated the murder of Lebanon's Rafiq Hariri.