Fatah holding Israel responsible for Arafat's death

A Fatah conference passes a unanimous resolution on Thursday, holding Israel fully accountable for Yasser Arafat's death. Israel resents the accusation.

Israel should be held fully accountable for the death of Yasser Arafat, according to a resolution passed on Thursday by a Fatah conference. The resolution did not sit well with Israeli officials. Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said the conference was a "serious blow to peace." "This was another lost opportunity for the Palestinian leadership to adopt moderate views," Avalon told [i]The Jerusalem Post[/i]. "Instead, it reverted to making extreme statements. This has raised suspicions that the Palestinians do not want a two-state solution, but rather a one-state solution." The Fatah conference called for a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Yasser Arafat. The committee will enlist international support and will operate under the umbrella that Israel is fully responsible. The investigation is somewhat unusual, since the Fatah conference has already found Israel guilty of Arafat's death. The assassination of Yasser Arafat has been a source of speculation throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with some blaming Mahmoud Abbas and others focusing on Israeli involvement. "The investigative committee will be headed by Nasser el-Kidweh, a nephew of Arafat," the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday. "Kaddoumi dropped a bombshell last month when he told reporters in Amman that Arafat had handed him before his death a protocol of a meeting where Abbas, former PA strongman Muhammad Dahlan, former prime minister Ariel Sharon and US intelligence officers allegedly planned to assassinate the former PA chairman." Israel does not have any intention of accepting blame. Information Minister Yuli Edelstein told the Jerusalem Post that "the weird attempt to blame Israel for Arafat's assassination and commemorate him as a martyr is aimed at justifying the Palestinians' ongoing armed struggle against Israel, which is extending its hand in peace to them."