A relative of Yasser Arafat insisted on Monday that the Palestinian leader who died four years ago this week was poisoned by Israel.

"Every day there are statements and clues about the elimination of Arafat and every day we draw closer to the poisoning theory," Nasser al-Qidwa, a nephew of the late Palestinian leader, told AFP.

"In a year or two, the nature of the poison administered to Yasser Arafat and the procedure used will be known," said Qidwa, who heads the Yasser Arafat foundation.

"In any case, Israel is responsible for his death. There were preparations to get rid of the political leadership of the Palestinian people."

The precise cause of Arafat's death on November 11, 2004 remain unknown, but several Palestinian leaders are convinced he was poisoned by Israel, which emphatically denies the claim.

Thousands of people are expected to take part in ceremonies to mark the fourth anniversary of Arafat's death in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday.