Palestinians steel themselves for the end of an era

Fear, confusion and resignation filled this West Bank city last night as Palestinians tried to come to terms with the news that…

Fear, confusion and resignation filled this West Bank city last night as Palestinians tried to come to terms with the news that Yasser Arafat was close to death.

Amid a swirl of conflicting reports, plainclothed members of the Palestinian intelligence service, the muhabarrat, established a strong presence among shoppers lest any sudden news trigger an outbreak of disturbances between rival groups.

Adding to the uncertainty was the decision to fly the Palestinian flag at the muqata, Mr Arafat's bomb-damaged headquarters, at half-mast.

That step had been taken not because of Mr Arafat's critical state, however, but in recognition of the death earlier this week of Sheikh Ziad Den Sultan al-Nahian, head of state of the United Arab Emirates, who was a generous contributor to Palestinian causes.

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In the Ali Babba coffee shop just off Ramallah's Lion Square, a large screen beamed regular updates on the Palestinian leader's health from the al-Jazeera satellite channel.

But whether Mr Arafat was alive or dead, a group of young men drinking coffee and smoking water pipes were certain of one thing - his immortality as the enduring embodiment of the Palestinian cause.

"Many Palestinians think Arafat was the central and unique leader," said Mr Asam Qassam (24), a civil engineer.

"After the Olso agreement, we think Arafat was the only one who could unite the Palestinians. In that respect he was a democratic leader. He spent 40 years protecting the Palestinian people and spreading the word of our problems among the Europeans and the Americans."

For many Palestinians, the biggest source of apprehension when Mr Arafat dies is fear of the unknown.

Mr Mohammad Yazan (22), an engineering student at Ramallah's Bir Zeit University, said: "The situation here is very conflicted. There will be a struggle between the leaders of the Palestinian Authority about who should take his place. I don't think any one person can take his place."

Nevertheless, Mr Yazan believed there was enough unity among the Palestinian people to prevent an outbreak of civil war. "The Palestinian people are aware of the situation and know that they must close ranks together in the context of the Israeli occupation."

Mr Mohammad Barghouti (22), also a civil engineer, said the most important thing for Palestinians was to decide their own destiny and leadership without outside interference. "We want the situation to be different from Iraq and Afghanistan, we deserve better than that," he said.

All three men called for early elections to establish a new leadership. But there was little agreement on which individual could step into Mr Arafat's shoes should he die.

Mr Mahmoud Abbas, the former prime minister, Mr Mohammad Dahlan, the former interior minister, and Mr Marwan Barghouti, the charismatic former head of Fatah in the West Bank, now serving five jail sentences in an Israeli prison, were all mentioned as preferred leaders.

But on one thing, Palestinians are united. If Mr Arafat's illness is terminal, urgent steps should be taken to bring him back to the West Bank to allow him the final honour of dying on Palestinian soil.

"I just hope that he dies in Palestine," said Mr Qassam. "He is an old man who fought for us for 40 years. He shouldn't die a long way from home." - ( Guardian Service)

There was speculation last night that Mr Arafat would probably be buried in the Gaza Strip because Israel refuses the Palestinian president a grave in Jerusalem, according to Israeli and Palestinian political sources.

Mr Arafat has said he wants to be buried in Jerusalem's Old City, where he says he was born, and which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move not recognised internationally.

Israel has ruled out Jerusalem, though some officials have proposed a burial in the nearby Palestinian village of Abu Dis, in the occupied West Bank.But the Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, has his eye on coastal Gaza, another territory captured in 1967, political sources said. - (Reuters)