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| Sunday, 14 November 2004 |
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Palestinians face post-Arafat era after emotional burial RAMALLAH, West Bank, Saturday (AFP) The Palestinian people were facing life post-Arafat on Saturday, the day after burying the only leader that most of them had ever known in chaotic and emotional scenes here. Yasser Arafat was laid to rest in the Ramallah compound which was his virtual prison in his final years, amid scenes of grief and chaos at his West Bank headquarters Friday as thousands of Palestinians struggled to catch a last glimpse of their leader. The body of Arafat, who died in a French hospital on Thursday at age 75, was placed in a grave topped with soil from his beloved Jerusalem, a Palestinian flag, floral wreathes and the chequered black-and-white keffiyeh that was his trademark. Thousands of Palestinians surged around the Egyptian military helicopter that brought the body to Ramallah from Cairo, where a much more formal military funeral was attended by dozens of foreign dignitaries. Overwhelmed Palestinian security forces shot into the air as the hordes prevented the flag-draped coffin from being unloaded for some 20 minutes. Arafat was eventually buried in a corner of one of the Muqataa's courtyards before the crowd began a prayer joined by Palestinian leaders, including newly appointed Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman Mahmud Abbas and prime minister Ahmed Qorei. Arafat had always wanted to be buried in the grounds of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is the third holiest site in Islam, but Israeli authorities categorically ruled that out. The passing of the man who spearheaded the Palestinian national struggle for four decades has been seen by many as an opportunity to revive the moribund peace process. But most observers are agreed that no one person has the authority to pick up the reins of power so completely as Arafat, who never groomed a successor. Already the surprise designation of hardliner Faruq Qaddumi, the PLO's Tunis-based politburo chef, as head of the organization's dominant Fatah faction has heightened fears that hardline militants could use the vacuum left by Arafat to boost their influence in the Palestinian movement. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had refused to meet Arafat but he hosted Abbas on a number of occasions last year. Sharon said Thursday that Arafat's death "could mark a historic turning point for the Middle East," adding that new peace talks were possible with a "new, serious, responsible leadership". US President George W. Bush, who also boycotted Arafat, said there was now a "great chance" to create an independent Palestinian state living at peace with Israel by the time he leaves office in 2009. Abbas, 69, a polished, moderate PLO veteran who served four rocky months last year as Arafat's prime minister before quitting in frustration, was once a Washington favorite. Ahmed Qorei, 67, prime minister for a year, had some bruising power struggles with Arafat over control of their security services but has not been taken too seriously by Israel or the United States. Sharon considers him too weak to crack down on the militants and refuses to see him. |
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