He says a Swiss team has arrived in the West Bank ahead of the planned exhumation. The team will assess the grave site and plan how best to dig up the remains.
The Swiss team will be joined by French investigators. The two teams, who are set to conduct parallel probes into Arafat's death, will only be allowed one chance to draw samples.
The diplomat spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
The new probes into Arafat's 2004 death come after a Swiss lab recently discovered traces of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope, on clothes said to be his.
