Arafat died yesterday
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Yasser Arafat, the guerrilla leader turned Nobel Peace Prize winner who forced his people’s plight into the world spotlight, died today at age 75 - still reviled by many as a terrorist.
Arafat died at 3:30 a.m. in a French military hospital. His last days were as murky and dramatic as his life. Arafat was flown to France on Oct. 29 after nearly three years of being penned in his West Bank headquarters by Israeli tanks.
He initially improved but then sharply deteriorated as rumors swirled about his illness. Neither doctors nor Palestinian leaders would say what killed Arafat.
source: Billings Gazette
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A political leader of the militant Islamic group Hamas blamed Israel for the death of Palestinian leader Arafat, saying doctors reports indicate he has been poisoned.
“I say, and do not hesitate, that I hold Israel responsible for the crime of the death of Arafat… All reports by doctors in the last two weeks indicate he was poisoned,” Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal told Al Jazeera television by telephone.
source: Novinite
Arafat’s body will be flown to Cairo for a state funeral, before being taken to Ramallah for burial. The Palestinian Authority declared a seven-day strike and 40-day mourning period.
source: Globes
Yasser Arafat’s end has come. He is on life support and there is not even a faint chance that he will be coming back. It is lucky that he is not able to feel or know what is happening around him. If he could, he would rather prefer to be dead than alive. His work and efforts done throughout his life - to unite Palestenians towards “liberating” Palestine seem like wastage of a lifetime with the ongoing battle for power in Palestine.
source: Press Trust
“Chairman Arafat personified the Palestinian people’s struggle to see their right to self-determination realized,” Martin said in the statement.
“Canada calls on Palestinians, and all peoples of the Middle East, to reflect on the tremendous cost of conflict, and, building on the legacy of their leaders and the guidance of their governments, to renew their commitment to peace.”
source: CTV
