Arab League moves to investigate Arafat's death

Following a programme broadcast by Aljazeera which raised questions about the manner of his death, the League of Arab States has begun the process to open investigation into the death of the late Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat.

Mohammed Sobaih, the assistant of the Secretary General of the Arab League for Palestinian issues, said that formal messages were forwarded to the member countries asking them to submit any document or information related to Arafat’s death which might be useful to the investigation.

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Mr Sobaih said that these messages are the framework with which to start a comprehensive investigation into the iconic Palestinian leader’s death. The findings will be presented before the meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers scheduled in September. A decision will then be made about asking for a UN investigation committee to be established for this issue.

Earlier this week, representatives of member states of the Arab League decided to form a committee headed by vice Secretary General Ahmed Bin Hilly to follow this matter up.