ISRAEL: If a new Palestinian leadership emerged which was ready to "end the terror, the incitement, dismantle the [ armed] groups", then negotiations with Israel could be renewed, said Israel's Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon.
But until that happened he would forge ahead with his plan to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip by the end of next year.
"The recent events could be a historic turning point for the Middle East. Israel is a country that seeks peace and will continue its efforts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians without delay," said Mr Sharon, who had kept Mr Arafat a virtual prisoner in his Ramallah compound for almost three years, following the outbreak of the intifada.
Some Israeli leaders were less diplomatic, giving vent to the deep animosity many of their countrymen harbour for Mr Arafat. The Justice Minister, Mr Joseph Lapid, said the Palestinian leader was responsible for global terror and for the failure to reach an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I hated him for the deaths of Israelis . . . I hated him for not allowing the peace process . . . to move forward," Mr Lapid said.
Peter Hirschberg
United States
In death as in life, the Bush administration continued its policy of marginalising Mr Arafat by announcing it was sending only a mid-level official to represent the US at his funeral, the Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East affairs, Mr Williams Burns.
With few exceptions, the death of Mr Arafat was greeted with satisfaction by commentators in the US, where he has often been depicted as a terrorist and a roadblock to peace.
President Bush expressed condolences but no regrets and said nothing about Mr Arafat's historic role as Palestinian leader.
The US hoped, he said in a statement, that the future would bring Palestinians "peace and the fulfilment of their aspirations for an independent, democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbours."
In marked contrast to the unforgiving mood in Washington, flags were lowered to half mast at the United Nations in New York. The UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, praised Mr Arafat's struggle to win international recognition for the Palestinian cause. By signing the 1993 Oslo peace accords, he"took a giant step towards the realisation of this vision. It is tragic that he did not live to see it fulfilled."
Conor O'Clery
Britain
The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, declared peace in the Middle East the international community's "highest priority" as he led British tributes to Mr Arafat. Mr Blair said world leaders must continue to "work tirelessly" for the two-state solution - a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel - which President Arafat had led his people to accept.
Offering his condolences to Mr Arafat's family and the Palestinian people, Mr Blair said: "President Arafat came to symbolise the Palestinian national movement. He won the Nobel Peace prize in 1994, jointly with Yitzhak Rabin, in recognition of their efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. He led his people to a historic acceptance of the need for a two-state solution. That goal ... is one we must continue to work tirelessly to achieve."
the Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw - who will attend today's funeral on behalf of the British government - described Mr Arafat as "a towering figure", adding: "It is hard to imagine the Occupied Territories, Palestinian politics and much of world affairs without him."
Frank Millar
Arab countries
Arabs across the Middle East saw Mr Arafat's death as the end of an era and said it was up to Israel to make it a chance for peace.Arab governments praised a leader who fought for a Palestinian state for decades but never achieved it. Several states announced three days of mourning.
"Arafat was the embodiment of the Palestinian question and his absence will certainly be greatly felt," said Mr Hossam Zaki, spokesman of the Arab League in Cairo. "But to all those who think his passing away will open all the doors for peace, we say that this is false and that the answers never really lay with the Palestinians as much as with the Israelis."
Israel and the US long accused Mr Arafat of thwarting peace, but Arab commentators said this was a pretext.
"Israel and its supporters say the obstacle to peace that is Arafat has disappeared. This is untrue and unjust because [ Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon] does not want to grant the Palestinian people their rights," said al-Khaleej newspaper in the United Arab Emirates.
From Morocco to Oman and from Syria to Yemen, states paid tribute, offered condolences or announced a period of mourning.
Kuwait, still angry with Mr Arafat for siding with Iraq during the 1990 invasion, was a notable exception, making no official comment hours after Mr Arafat's death.
The Egyptian president, Mr Hosni Mubarak, told parliament Mr Arafat "defended rights, struggled against occupation and pursued peace". Saudi Arabia's ailing King Fahd said in a statement he received the news with "great pain and deep distress".
Reuters