Israel on Wednesday acceded to requests by the Palestinian Authority and said it would allow ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to be buried at his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
"Israel is interested in having the burial ceremony and funeral arrangements take place in an orderly fashion, in order to avoid confrontations or unnecessary escalation," an official statement said following a security cabinet meeting, headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
However, the Palestinians will be responsible for maintaining security and public order in Ramallah during and after the burial.
"This message was passed on to the Palestinians and Arab and international bodies," the prime minister's bureau said.
Sharon had convened the meeting of his security service chiefs and senior ministers following Palestinian leaders' declaration that they would like to bury Arafat, who is comatose in a Paris hospital, at his muqata (headquarters).
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said Sharon's office called him and informed him of "their acceptance of our request..."
Israel had ruled out the possibility of a Jerusalem burial.
Arafat's headquarters is just a few kilometres from Jerusalem, but Erekat said the Palestinian leader's body would eventually be moved for burial in East Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque compound when peace is reached with Israel.
