Palestinians begin work to open Yasser Arafat's grave

The Palestinians on Tuesday began work to open the grave of the late Yasser Arafat ahead of an exhumation of his body for a murder probe, according to a source close to his family.

"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," he said, referring to the operation to open the tomb ahead of a visit by French, Swiss and Russian experts to test forensically Arafat's remains over suspicions he 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 said.
On Monday, Arafat's mausoleum, which is located at the Muqataa presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah was screened from public view with blue tarpaulins ahead of the operation to open the grave.
Work to actually begin taking samples is expected to begin at the end of the month after the French and Swiss delegations arrive on November 26, officials have said.

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