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Sunday, February 02, 2014

Nutty Arab rumor of the day: Kerry threatened to poison Abbas "just like Arafat"

British Arabic newspaper Al Rai reports on contentious negotiations between John Kerry and Mahmoud Abbas, with Abbas resisting Kerry's insistence on a limited "right of return" and larger land swaps than he wants.

A source claimed that Abbas left the meeting angry and saying that Kerry told him that if he does not accept the framework proposals, his fate will be no less than that of Arafat.

Palestine Today runs with that, saying that Arafat was murdered by the Israeli prime minister and defense minister coordinated with the US after he refused to sign a peace agreement under the Clinton parameters.

The story has already hit Al Watan Voice, JordanZad, and Palestine News Network, who attributed the claim to member of the Central Committee of the Fatah Jamal al-Muheisen.

Al-Muheisen added that the PLO should go to the International Criminal Court to prosecute Kerry for his threats, and that this threat proves that the US gave Israel the green light to kill Arafat.

Let's flesh out the rumor a little more: