Mrs. Arafat Flees to Tunis With Arafat's Medical Records
DEBKAfile Intelligence
20 November 2004
Arafat’s widow absconds to Tunis with his medical files ahead of his nephew al-Kidwa’s arrival in Paris to collect them.
French defense ministry says al Kidwa is entitled to access medical information on Arafat’s never-publicly-diagnosed illness. But Suha’s lawyers say only children and widow
She took the files and ran after Palestinian TV broadcast Friday sermon threatening her life. She used Arafat’s plane, flouting Palestinian Authority’s demands for its return.
PA hoped to publish record and lay to rest rumors of foul play, including Israeli poison. DEBKAfile’s Paris sources convinced widow will hold onto medical files as collateral for agreed PA payments and as leverage to help radicals Kadoumi, Mussa Arafat and Force 17 commander foil Abbas’s bid for succession