Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: Wikipedia.

In a speech on Wednesday commemorating the 11th anniversary of the death of PLO chief Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that regional freedom was tied to Palestinian independence, the Israeli news site nrg reported.

“The Palestinian people must be allowed to exercise their right to freedom and independence,” said Abbas. “Otherwise, no one in the region will feel they are free.”

“Yasser Arafat will always be in our heart,” he said of his predecessor.

Abbas also said that the commission tasked with investigating the cause of Arafat’s death had “made significant progress in discovering the truth…”

Tawfik Tirawi, who heads the Palestinian investigation team, assert that the committee “will find the man who murdered Arafat,” and blamed Israel for the former PA president’s demise.

Despite repeated claims by the Palestinian Authority that Arafat was poisoned, French and Russian teams separately investigating the case both ruled out foul play in his death.