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“Our results reasonably support the poisoning theory,” said Francois Bochud, director of the Institute of Radiation Physics that carried out the probe, though he was careful to emphasize the lingering questions that will require further investigation to answer.

“Can we exclude polonium as cause of death? The response is clearly ’no,’ he said. ”Was polonium the cause of the death for certain? The answer is no.“

The Palestinian leader died in November 2004 at a French military hospital, a month after falling violently ill at his Israeli-besieged West Bank compound. Palestinian officials have alleged from the start that Israel poisoned Arafat, a claim Israel denies.

Suha Arafat, his widow, called on the Palestinian leadership Thursday to seek justice for her husband.

Speaking to The Associated Press by phone from the Qatari capital Doha, she did not mention Israel, but argued that only countries with nuclear capabilities have access to polonium.

“I can’t accuse anyone, but it’s clear this is a crime, and only countries with nuclear reactors can have and do that,” she said.

“Now the ball is in the hands of the Palestinian Authority. They have to find the tools and pursue the legal case. They can resort to international legal institutions and international courts,” she added.

Scientists not connected to the study said polonium is not naturally found in the human body.

“It’s quite difficult to understand why (Arafat) might have had any polonium, if he was just in his headquarters in Ramallah,” said Alastair Hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds. “He wasn’t somebody who was moving in and out of atomic energy plants or dealing with radioactive isotopes.”