Gaza pays tribute to Arafat with call for formal investigation

The Palestinian government in Gaza has paid tribute to the late President Yasser Arafat and reiterated its call for a formal Palestinian investigation committee to discover the real details of his death. Many now suspect that Arafat was murdered and, the government said in a press statement, the perpetrators must be punished for the “assassination”.

At the same time, the Hamas-led government restated its rejection of negotiations with the Israelis. “These talks are humiliating and a cover for the occupation’s continuous and escalating crimes, especially the on-going crime of settlements, which seizes more of our land day and night.” Ministers stressed that those negotiating with the Israelis “only represent themselves”.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent statements and behaviour were condemned by Gaza. “He expresses a hate and spite for a genuine and large part of the Palestinian people,” the statement alleged, before adding that anyone making such statements against his own people “is not fit to lead them”.