Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to express their grief over the death of their leader and gunmen fired into the air and people waved Palestinian flags.
The Palestinian Authority announced a 40-day mourning period following the annoucement of Yasser Arafat's death. Television aired excerpts from the Koran with a picture of Arafat in the background.
At Arafat's compound in Ramallah, security guards were seen wiping away tears, flags were lowered to half-staff and workmen were preparing the Muquata compound for his burial there.
President Arafat died Thursday at age 75. The French military hospital where he had been treated for since Oct. 29 said he died at 3:30 a.m. The Palestinian leader spent his final days there in a deep coma.
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat and Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a close Arafat aide, confirmed Arafat's demise from the Palestinian president's headquarters in Ramallah.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad voiced sorrow over Arafat's death and paid tribute. Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas' spokesman in Gaza, called on the group's supporters to honor Arafat and work toward national unity.
"We lost by his death one of our great symbols and one of the main focuses of our national struggle and identity," Abu Zuhri told The Associated Press.
Islamic Jihad spokesman in Gaza Strip Nafez Azzam said "with hearts full of belief in God's will we mourn President Yasser Arafat who was a great leader for the Palestinian people."
US President Bush issued a statement of condolence to the Palestinian people. "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," the statement said.
"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."
"President Arafat was one of those few leaders who could be instantly recognized by people in any walk of life all around the world. For nearly four decades, he expressed and symbolized in his person the national aspirations of the Palestinian people," commented U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Arafat became one of the world's most familiar faces after addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York in 1974. "Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun," he said. "Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand."
In 1993, he shook hand at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on a peace deal that formally recognized Israel's right to exist while granting the Palestinians limited self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The pact led to the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for Arafat, Rabin and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. (Albawaba.com)
