Bulldozers clear Arafat compound
2004-11-10 14:56
Jerusalem - Six large earth-moving vehicles moved into Yasser Arafat's headquarters at midday apparently to begin removing the rubble left behind by several Israeli army operations.
This happened shortly after Israeli interior minister Avraham Poraz said Israel would permit a "respectful" funeral at Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and would be careful not to "upset" Palestinian feelings.
Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat confirmed the accord, saying: "Israel made it known to us a few minutes ago that the Israeli government agrees to a Palestinian request to bury President Arafat in the Muqataa."
Following the announcement, two bulldozers, a mechanical digger and four heavy dump trucks were seen inside the Muqataa, apparently to clear some of the rubble which is strewn across the compound.
Still alive
Arafat, who was admitted to a French military hospital outside Paris on October 29, was still alive on Wednesday but "in the hands of God", said the permanent Palestinian envoy to France, Leila Shahid.
A top Islamic cleric, Tayssir el-Tamimi, said at the hospital that there was "no question of switching off the equipment," adding: "It is against Islamic law which bans this type of practice."
The Palestinians will be responsible for security at any burial while the Israeli army, which has raised its alert level in anticipation of Arafat's eventual death, will be responsible for security around Ramallah.
According to military sources, foreign leaders will arrive in Ramallah via the Allenby bridge that links Jordan and the West Bank, which is controlled by Israeli and Jordanian authorities.
The Jewish state will deploy police reinforcements in east Jerusalem to head off any violence linked to the burial, which could coincide with the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan this weekend, Israeli officials said.
Arafat had expressed a wish to be laid to rest in Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as the capital of their promised future state, but Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon categorically ruled out that possibility.
Poraz said "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."
The United States administration had pressed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government to permit the Ramallah burial, Israeli officials said on condition of anonymity.
- AFP