Arafat 'still alive', but funeral preparations underway
A top Islamic cleric visiting PA Chairman Yasser Arafat on Wednesday in Paris said the Palestinian leader "is in a difficult situation but he is still alive."
"The doctors are fighting for his life," Palestinian envoy to France, Leila Shahid, said Wednesday afternoon. "They will continue until they succeed - or until they give up."
Shahid told France-Info radio that Imam Taissir Dayut Tamimi came to Paris "not to disconnect" Arafat from life support.
Shahid told CNN that the top cleric came to be by Arafat's side while he is in a coma. "I do not see why Arafat should not have a sheikh by his side," she said.
Tamimi said he read passages from the Kuran at Arafat's bedside. "I prayed to God for his recovery," he said. "His situation is very difficult."
Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath told Channel 2 News that since he departed from Paris late Tuesday, Arafat's condition has not changed. "He is in a critical condition, but his heart and lungs are still functioning quite well. He is not brain dead."
Referring to Palestinian preparations for Arafat's funeral, Shaath said, "Of course we don't have a time schedule. However, emergency and contingency planning need to be done because of the space and time which we need to be overcome."
Shaath and the other PA officials who arrived Wednesday at Arafat's Mukata compound in Ramallah were expected to announce his death after the PLO Executive Committee concludes its meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday morning.
Some 150 Palestinians gathered at the Mukata Wednesday afternoon and demonstrated in favor of Arafat shouting, "No Dahlan and no Abbas, we want only Arafat" and "With our blood, with our souls we will redeem you oh Abu Amar," using Arafat's nom de guerre.
The Israeli cabinet decided Wednesday in principle to allow Arafat to be buried in Ramallah. Three earthmoving trucks arrived at the Mukata on Wednesday afternoon to prepare for his burial.
Palestinian Cabinet Minster Saeb Erekat told Army Radio that Arafat would be buried in Ramallah, and that his body may be transferred to Jerusalem if a diplomatic agreement is reached with Israel. Erekat added that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory "would have turned Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela into terrorists."
Palestinian parliament speaker Rauhi Fattouh will become temporary president of the Palestinian Authority in the event of Yasser Arafat's death, top Palestinian officials decided Wednesday. In approving Fattouh, the leaders sidestepped the real issue of succession. Arafat controlled three top jobs - head of the PLO, of Fatah and president of the Palestinian Authority. A decision on who would head the PLO and Fatah - and become Arafat's successor - will only be made after Arafat's death.
Interior Minister Avraham Poraz said Israel would permit a "respectful" funeral and be careful not to "upset" Palestinian feelings.
"We have no desire to provoke the Palestinian street or the Arab world, or the rest of the world," Poraz said. "So when the man dies, we have to allow them to mourn him. In their eyes he's a hero."
A farewell ceremony for Arafat will be held in Cairo's International Airport, perhaps on Thursday. Arafat will be flown to Ramallah on Friday for burial after the ceremony.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak offered to hold a funeral ceremony for Arafat at the Arab League in Cairo, ahead of burial in Ramallah. A senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that Arafat's body would first be flown from Paris to Cairo to enable world leaders to attend the farewell ceremony. He said the decision was taken in coordination with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.
The PA has decided to send two delegations –one to Cairo and the other to Paris – to transfer Arafat's coffin to Cairo.
Israel received requests from several countries to allow an Arafat burial in Ramallah. The choice of the Ramallah headquarters appears to defuse a possible confrontation with Israel, as Israel had said in past days it would not allow a Jerusalem burial.
"Unfortunately, in the pages of history, the words 'place of burial unknown' will not be written next to Arafat's name," Immigrant Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni said on Israel Radio Wednesday morning.
Overnight, several Arab news outlets reported the death of the Palestinian leader from a brain hemorrhage, citing Palestinian officials. PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, PLO Secretary General Abu Mazen, and Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath returned to Ramallah after spending Tuesday visiting Arafat at the Percy Military Hospital in Paris.
According to reports, Suha Arafat apologized to Qurei for comments she made Monday, and Qurei accepted her apology. Speaking to Al-Jazeera from Paris, Suha said earlier this week that Arafat's aides were coming to Paris "to bury him alive."
On the Palestinian street, more and more people are calling for the return of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, Fatah sources told The Jerusalem Post.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad held a joint emergency meeting in Gaza City Tuesday night to discuss the post-Arafat era, Israel Radio reported.
The Council of Jewish Communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Yesha Council) has rejected a Foreign Ministry request to hire bulletproof buses in order to transport participants in Arafat's funeral in Ramallah.
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