Palestinian Leader Demands International Investigation Into Scandal Concerning Vessel Allegedly Transporting Weapons For Palestinians

Yasser Arafat, the head of the Palestinian National Authority, has proposed that US, EU and Russian representatives take part in the investigation into the scandal concerning the vessel which had been allegedly transporting weapons for Palestinians. This statement was made public on Wednesday by the UAE-published al-Khalij newspaper. The Palestinian leader claims that the whole story has been falsified by the Israelis in order to distract international community from the Israeli aggression against Palestine. "I want the international community to think of how a vessel with 50 tons of weapons aboard could reach the Gaza coast," Arafat stated. "Israeli ships control coastal waters and there are no Palestinian ports in the nearby. How could this vessel deliver its freight when the whole of the Palestinian coast is blocked by Palestinian units?" Arafat wonders. The vessel with weapons aboard was intercepted by the Israelis in the Red Sea on January 4th. The Israeli side claims that the owner of the freight was Palestine.