Again, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's statement was not very different: "Arafat has no place among us. The day will come when we will exile him from these lands and that day is closer than ever."
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said eliminating Arafat was one of the options.
These words written under each other, have made it necessary not to brush off allegations relating to Arafat's death. It is known that Israel adopts such a method.
As soon as news of Arafat's of death reached Palestine, people poured out onto the streets in tears. Sadness descended upon the merry Ramadan festival of the Palestinian people, a 40-day mourning period was declared. In the demonstrations that alarmed the Israeli army, was one slogan specifically for Arafat: "The Mountain Cannot be Shaken by the Wind."
His last photograph…last words…his last image appearing on the screens, that will never be forgotten, were so effective that they have virtually been engraved in minds. He did not wear his traditional 'kaffiyeh' (headscarf) this time, that he never left behind even when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. He could hardly stand on his feet, and could only walk with the assistance of the people around him. With a sweet smile on his face, he was throwing his kisses around.
The last words that poured out of his mouth while he was leaving Ramallah, where he was placed under siege by Israeli soldiers, were: "Wait, I will be back". Anyone who saw this last photograph was aware that Arafat had started a journey of no return.
Yasser Arafat's 15-day death journey narrates the drama of Palestine in all its nakedness: He fell ill in his compound, passed away at a hospital in Paris, the funeral prayer was performed in Cairo, he returned to Ramallah, where he said, "I will return" while leaving, not with a "V" sign, but in a coffin, and was buried temporarily in a stone tomb.
Arafat's will for Jerusalem is meaningful in a way because it places the "Jerusalem mission" on the shoulders of the Palestinian people. This mission means struggling until Jerusalem becomes a Palestinian territory. The Palestinian people are already conscious about Jerusalem, now that responsibility has increased even more.
Arafat, undoubtedly, was the symbol of the Palestinian Intifada, an indispensable name associated with it for 50 years; however, causes with divine connotations do not culminate with individuals. Israel's President Ariel Sharon, nourished by violence, might have thought of taking that position by eliminating Arafat.
He will understand sooner rather than later that he was mistaken.
Arafat, who meant a lot to Palestine has passed away, but left behind a people exhausted through wars, suffering, exiles. In such long, painful causes, a vacuum never occurs. The Palestinian people will produce other leaders, other heroes, who will even overshadow Arafat. I don't think there will be a period of depression. The elimination of Arafat is neither in the interest of Israel nor in the interest of the other great powers which have eyes on the region. On the contrary, it hinders their purpose.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul attended the funeral.
November 12, 2004
