Arafat calls for a meeting of pan-Islamic body

Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, on Monday asked the ruler of Qatar to convene a summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) following the Israeli raids against Gaza and the West Bank.

Arafat informed at phone talks the ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Al-Thani, about the Israeli aggressions against Palestinian territories and asked him to urgently convene an OIC summit.

The ruler of Qatar is acting chairman of the OIC.

A spokesman of the Qatari foreign department said Doha will immediately start contacts with the OIC secretariat general and with member countries.

Farouk Kaddoumi, head of the political department of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told MAP news agency in Tunis on Monday that the date of the summit has not yet been set.

In retaliation for weekend suicide bombings that left 25 Israelis dead, Israel is currently launching harsh attacks against Palestinian territories. Israeli forces targeted Yasser Arafat's residence and offices, destroyed the tarmac of the Gaza airport and other Palestinian facilities.