Yasser Arafat has passed away... or maybe not?

[Z the laidback Virus]

He's been dead for a long time now, I'm sure.

They just keep it under wraps and clouded in mystery to settle things like his succession and to keep some sort of peace in Israel. It's what I would have done too, I think.

But they can't keep it secret for ever and the moment it's announced.....the bomb is certain to blow. (no pun intended)

[Don Rizzle]

he is still alive but i can;t see him leaving france alive

israel has angered palestinians by making plans for his burial

Israel plans for Arafat burial
The Israeli government has made plans for Yasser Arafat to be buried in the Gaza Strip, against the ailing leader's reported wish for a grave in Jerusalem.
Palestinians would be allowed to cross from the West Bank and Arab leaders with no diplomatic ties with Israel would also be allowed to attend.

A senior Arafat official reacted to news of the Israeli plans by saying they were inappropriate.

Mr Arafat remains critically ill at a hospital in France.

The two top Palestinian officials, PLO acting chief Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei are flying to his bedside on Monday, officials said.


 We can arrange it so that passage through the crossings is easy and simple
Avraham Poraz
Israeli interior minister
 

Christian Estripeau, a spokesman for the Percy military hospital outside Paris, told the BBC on Sunday he was aware of speculation about Mr Arafat's state of health.

However, he said he was unable to comment and, in accordance with the wishes of Yasser Arafat's wife, Suha, he could only repeat the official hospital line that the Palestinian leader was not dead.

Earlier, Palestinian officials speculated that he might be suffering from liver failure while other reports said he had emerged from a coma.

In the nine days Yasser Arafat has been at the hospital, the cause of his illness has never been disclosed and rumours have continued to circulate that he has fallen into an irreversible coma, the BBC's Katya Adler reports from Paris.

'No problem'

Israeli Interior Minister Avraham Poraz said arrangements for a Gaza burial would not be difficult.

"We can arrange it so that passage through the crossings is easy and simple - and that's what will happen," he said.

His ministry, he said, would ensure there would be "no problem at all" with heads of state coming to Israel to visit the territories.

An Israeli government spokesman stressed it was only a contingency plan, and that they were waiting for the Palestinians to make an official request, but he said so far there had been no contact.

Israel is opposed to burying Mr Arafat in Jerusalem, with Justice Minister Yosef Lapid saying it is a city "where Jews bury their kings... not a city [for burying] an Arab terrorist".

Neglected cemetery

One Palestinian official described the Israeli plans as outrageous, saying the Israelis were denying Mr Arafat his right to be buried in East Jerusalem.


However, he added that the Palestinians did not have any leverage in the negotiations, especially as under Islamic traditions, if he does die, Mr Arafat should be buried as quickly as possible.

A Palestinian minister, Saeb Erekat, said it was inappropriate to discuss the burial issue while Arafat was alive.

"I think it's not for the Israelis to decide and I would urge the Israelis to show some sensitivity," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Reports say Israel would prefer for Mr Arafat to be buried in his family plot in the Gaza refugee camp of Khan Younis, particularly since it intends to pull out of Gaza next year and could distance itself from a potential place of pilgrimage.

However, the tiny cemetery where the leader's father and sister are buried is ankle-deep in rubbish and reeks of donkey dung from a neighbouring market, correspondents say.

"I don't want the president to be buried here," local butcher Saleh Zaourb, 48, told AFP news agency. "Other places would be more fitting - Jerusalem is the best place, otherwise Gaza City."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/3990385.stm

[acbaylove]

no he still had power he didn't like to deligate which is why his pms got very frustraighted
he also had the ear of the palestinian people there won't be anyone as influential as him for a long time

i agree arafat didn't contol terrorism the terrorist groups controls that, and they are fighting a very worthy cause but by unworthy means, but then israel does it too. peaceful preotest doesn't always work look at the what happenned to the Dalai Lama and Tibet china fucked them over royally they led a peaceful protest to the occupation and china murdered a million tibetians forced their leader into exile and imprisoned his monks. What does the international community do? instead of supporting tibetians and their methods they simply ignore them as they are afraid of angering the chineese last time the Dalai Lama was in London Tony Blair snubbed him is the actions someone who is so concerned about terrorism should take?

Yeah we both knows the answer..

[Don Rizzle]

answer to what?

[acbaylove]

What does the international community do? instead of supporting tibetians and their methods they simply ignore them as they are afraid of angering the chineese last time the Dalai Lama was in London Tony Blair snubbed him is the actions someone who is so concerned about terrorism should take?

No.