Yasser Arafat, who was the President of the Palestinian National Authority and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, died unexpectedly on November 11, 2004, at the age of 75, after a short period of illness. While the cause of his death has been debated, investigations by Russian and French teams determined no foul play was involved. In 2012, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas approved the exhumation of Arafats body in response to allegations that he was poisoned with the radioactive element polonium-210 in 2004. Swiss scientists had previously reported "unexpectedly high activity" of radioactive polonium-210 in Arafats body and personal effects, including his clothing, leading to accusations that he was assassinated. However, French investigators concluded that Arafat died of natural causes due to "old age following a generalised infection," ruling out allegations he was poisoned. The suspicions surrounding his death were not so much because he fell ill after eating dinner one evening as some media reports suggest—the Palestinian leader’s health had been failing for some time—or the fact that he had taken a turn for the worse and was suddenly flown to France for treatment, but rather because of what happened while Arafat lay dying in the Percy military hospital near Paris.