COPENHAGEN - Death or injury to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat resulting from an Israeli siege could turn him into a martyr and spark "a great deal of anger" among the world's Muslims, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned today.

Mahathir said he had written to French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and US President George W Bush asking them to pressure Israel into lifting the encirclement of Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.