The Palestinians agreed with the Arab League to internationalize the investigations of the death circumstances of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Xinhua Tuesday.
"The next expected moves include moving the file of Arafat's death to the UN Security Council and the General Assembly," Erekat said in a special interview at his office, adding "then the file will be taken to the international high court of justice in the Hague."
He revealed that this was a agreement made between the Palestinian leadership and the Arab League, adding "it was agreed that in case the results of testing the samples from Arafat's body are announced, the file will be internationalized."
Last week, the Qatari-based al-Jazeera TV reported that Swiss scientists found at least 18 times the normal levels of radioactive polonium in the tested samples taken from Arafat's remains, adding that they were confident that up to an 83 percent level that Arafat was poisoned with it.
Swiss, Russian and French scientists opened Arafat's grave and took sample from his body one year ago. The results were announced in a 108-page report showing that Arafat's death was not natural, and that he certainly died of being poisoned by radioactive polonium.
"President Mahmoud Abbas, who visited Egypt this week, discussed with the Egyptian and Arab leaders the possibilities of internationalizing the file of Arafat's death," said Erekat, adding "it was agreed to send different security and medical committees soon to the Arab League in Cairo to debate the issue."
Meanwhile, Erekat unveiled that during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held in Amman, Abbas requested from the U.S. not to object the Palestinian decision turning to the Security Council to obtain an international resolution for investigating Arafat's death.
He said that Kerry promised Abbas to help in this regard, adding the Palestinian attitude to go to the international institutions "is not related to the Palestinian commitment not to refer to the international organizations during the nine-month period of the direct peace talks with Israel.
"We will focus only on how Arafat died, and how he was killed and who killed him," said Erekat, adding "because the French, Swiss and Russian scientists knew how he died, but we will ask the international organizations to help us find who exactly killed our Palestinian leader."
Asked about the current peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Erekat told Xinhua that Israel brought these talks to a deadlock by expanding settlements, imposing facts on the ground and keeping the tight siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.
Arafat, chairman of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the founder of Fatah movement, died at the age of 75 in a French Hospital in November 11, 2004.
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