The "father of terror" is dead. Officially. Finally.
The "father of terror" is dead. Officially. Finally.
Israel Insider ^ | 11.11.04
The "father of terror" is dead. Officially. Finally.
November 11, 2004
Yasser Arafat, the Egyptian engineer who assumed the role of "freedom fighter" and invented the "Palestinian people" by introducing airplane hijacking and suicide bombing into the world and then deceived, extorted, and killed his way to international fame and fortune, bilking his society of billions of dollars, is, after a week of high tragicomic farce, finally and formally deemed dead.
Israelis, with few exceptions, considered him a liar, a charlatan, and a mass murderer. Many felt fooled over the years by the perception that Arafat, despite his pretensions to a "peace of the brave," clung throughout his life to the goal of the eradication of Israel, whether by a pan-Arab military blow or in phases of gradual attrition. He is judged responsible, directly or indirectly, for the deaths of thousands of innocent people, most of them Israeli but also many foreign nationals, including American diplomats.
Arafat introduced terrorism into the modern consciousness, initially through high profile airplane hijacking and later by introducing the concept of suicide bomb as a means of martyrdom, techniques which have since been adopted by the Arab world and beyond.
Arafat is also blamed in Israel for having debased the value of making peace with Arabs in the region. The disillusionment of moderate Israelis in the "peace process" and the possibility of co-existence, was largely the result of public pronouncements and commitments by Arafat never matched with facts on the ground.
The failure to stop pursuing terrorism, combined with a legacy of extortion and racketeering on a massive scale, made him and his immediate circle fabulously wealthy from funds contributed by foreign governments for the welfare of Palestinian society which itself grew disillusioned by his corruption. The fiasco surrounding his last days, the in-fighting between his wife and the Palestinian leadership, revealed the degree to which the driving forces in Arafat's life were driven by the selfish pursuit of power that only masses of ill-gotten money could buy.
In the end, the man who packed a pistol onto the UN podium and received a Nobel Peace Prize wearing his quasi-military uniform, died alone and unfulfilled, abandoned but by those who sought to exploit and extend his death throes to preserve their own self-appointed positions and to extract what remaining booty they could. The corruption that characterized his life finally found expression in his mental and physical dissolution. Abu Amar, the father of modern terrorism, was at last left pitifully alone to face the terror that awaits an evil man in death.
The "father of terror" is dead. Officially. Finally.
Good riddance Abu Amar:aka Yasser Arafat
The "father of terror" is dead. Officially. Finally.
Palestinian leader was loved and reviled
Yasser Arafat, the man who embodied the cause of the Palestinian people for four decades, died at 3:30 a.m. Thursday at a hospital outside of Paris, according to Palestinian and hospital officials. He was 75.
Arafat was flown to France nearly two weeks ago with what was said to be an intestinal disorder, but he lapsed into a coma and suffered a brain hemorrhage and liver and kidney failure. The doctors treating him in France never said publicly what caused the illness that led to his death.
Arafat died having never achieved his life-long dream of achieving an independent Palestinian state. Even so, he was beloved and revered by Palestinians as the symbol of their struggle for a homeland, which he nearly single-handedly kept alive for 40 years.
At the same time, Arafat was reviled by Israelis as a terrorist whom they blamed for launching more than four years ago the Palestinian uprising and its campaign of suicide bombings.
His body will be flown to Cairo, the Egyptian capital, for a state funeral, presumably on Thursday or Friday, and then will be buried at his battered headquarters compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he had been confined by Israeli troops for the past 2 1/2 years.
President Bush said in a statement, ??The death of Yasser Arafat is a significant moment in Palestinian history. We express our condolences to the Palestinian people. For the Palestinian people, we hope that the future will bring peace and the fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent, democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors. During the period of transition that is ahead, we urge all in the region and throughout the world to join in helping make progress toward these goals and toward the ultimate goal of peace.?
Arafat was flown to France on Oct. 29 after suffering from digestive problems and a blood disorder. He was hospitalized at the Percy Military Training hospital in Clamart, a suburb of Paris, and then slipped into a coma on Nov. 3. On Tuesday he developed a brain hemorrhage.
Arafat??s duties heading the Palestinian Authority will be assumed by Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia. The Palestine Liberation Organization will be run by its deputy, former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas. The speaker of the Palestinian legislature, Rauhi Fattouh, will take over the ceremonial role of president until elections are organized within the next 60 days, Palestinian officials said.
Under Islamic tradition, a person should be buried as soon as possible after dying, preferably within 24 hours. Taissir Dayut Tamimi, a senior Islamic cleric who heads the religious courts in the Palestinian territories, arrived at Arafat??s bedside Wednesday to recite verses from the Koran and prepare his body according to Islamic custom, said Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat.
The announcements Wednesday that Arafat would be buried in Ramallah ended days of tense speculation that Israel might prohibit his body from being buried in the West Bank and force him to be interred instead in a small family plot in a cemetery in the southern Gaza Strip, which Palestinian leaders said was unacceptable.
Erekat said Arafat??s Ramallah headquarters, which has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance during the current uprising over Israel??s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, would be turned into ??a major Palestinian shrine? after Arafat??s body is laid to rest there. Until he flew to France for medical treatment on Oct. 29, Arafat had not left the compound in more than 2 1/2 years.
According to his aides, Arafat longed to be buried in Jerusalem, which Palestinians and Israelis both claim as their capital. But Israel has controlled the city since annexing its eastern half after the 1967 Middle East war, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon??who often refers to Jerusalem as Israel??s eternal, undivided capital??ruled out any burial for Arafat in ??greater Jerusalem,? which includes neighborhoods surrounding the city.
The choice of a burial site in Ramallah, which is about five miles north of Jerusalem, resolved a contentious issue between Israelis and Palestinians that could have argued about for days. On Wednesday, bulldozers and dump trucks were clearing and cleaning Arafat??s compound, known as the Mukata, of old cars, barrels filled with cement and other objects strewn around as a defense against Israeli incursions.
The decision to hold a formal state funeral in the Egyptian capital??where Arafat was born, although he often claimed Jerusalem as his birthplace??also resolves several potentially thorny issues, particularly whether leaders of countries that do not recognize Israel would visit an area under Israeli occupation, and if they did, whether Palestinian security forces could guarantee their security.
An Israeli official, who declined to be quoted by name because of a government prohibition against speaking about funeral arrangements before Arafat dies, said Cairo was chosen for the funeral because the Palestinians ??wanted a place where all Arab leaders could come without hindrance, and we said we can accommodate all the people who want to come, but no doubt the security situation is a deterrence for Arab leaders who don??t want to go over Israeli roads and pass through Israeli checkpoints or whatever.?
Foreign dignitaries would still be allowed to attend any service in Ramallah, he said, but Palestinian officials doubted many would.
Erekat noted that many mourners at Arafat??s funeral would be from countries that do not have relations with Israel, and so Cairo was a good alternative ??to make sure there??s no friction or problems.? It was possible that the funeral will be held at Cairo International Airport, he said. Details had not been finalized Wednesday, but that the general outline was known, Erekat said.
??President Arafat will lie in state in Cairo for some hours, and then he will be flown from Cairo to Ramallah, directly I think in Egyptian choppers, and this will be the temporary burial place, because the day will come when we will have an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and President Arafat??s body will be moved to the Al Aqsa Mosque,? he said.
Peace
The "father of terror" is dead. Officially. Finally.
??President Arafat will lie in state in Cairo for some hours, and then he will be flown from Cairo to Ramallah, directly I think in Egyptian choppers, and this will be the temporary burial place, because the day will come when we will have an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and President Arafat??s body will be moved to the Al Aqsa Mosque,? he said.
Never No Way No How Ain't gonna happen...
The "father of terror" is dead. Officially. Finally.
Quote:
Never No Way No How Ain't gonna happen...
Exactly my thought
Peace
