French judges are seeking a West Bank trip to have late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's body exhumed for further investigation into his death, local media reported Wednesday.

Suha Arafat, Arafat's widow, in a statement asked the Palestinian authorities and the Arab League to suspend all initiatives while French magistrates conduct inquiry into the case.

Suha said she was pleased that the three instructing magistrates had told her lawyer that they were making the necessary moves to gain access to the West Bank. No date was given for the trip, the French news agency AFP reported.

The action came after French prosecutors opened a murder enquiry into Arafat's death following claims that toxic radioactive chemical polonium-210 was found on his personnel belongings which rising doubts that the leader was poisoned.

Suha asked in July to launch inquiry into Arafat's death.

The Palestinian leader died at the age of 75 in Paris in November 2004 after a stroke. However, no clear reason for his death was presented and no autopsy was conducted on him.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) last Wednesday expressed hopes that France's decision to open a probe over the death of Arafat will reveal the truth behind the circumstances of the Palestinian leader's death.