Renew Peace Bid to Mark Arafat's Death - Blair
By James Lyons, PA Political Correspondent
news.scotsman.com
Tony Blair called for fresh efforts to find a Middle East peace settlement today in the wake of Yasser Arafat’s death.
The Palestinian leader’s body was on the way to Egypt tonight from the French hospital where he died in the early hours, aged 75.
Mr Arafat will be accorded a military funeral in the Arab state tomorrow.
He will then be buried at the Ramallah compound in the occupied West Bank where has been kept a virtual prisoner by the Israelis for two-and-a-half years.
Mr Arafat had been in a coma since 3 November and on Tuesday suffered a brain haemorrhage.
Although not unexpected, his death has caused uncertainty in the region and reverberated around the world.
Mr Arafat personified his people’s struggle after 40 years at the forefront of the Palestinian cause.
Displays of grief and volleys of gunfire were heard from Gaza to the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan.
The Israelis, who saw him as a terrorist, said his death marked a new chance of peace.
The Prime Minster was expected to urge US President George Bush to make new efforts towards a deal when the pair met in Washington tonight.
In a TV interview before setting out, he hailed Mr Arafat as an “icon for the Palestinian people”.
“There is no doubt about that at all. Whatever differences we had with him I think it is right to recognise that,” he told GMTV.
“I think the most important thing is to make sure we reinvigorate the peace process because there is misery for Palestinians, there is misery for Israelis who suffer terrorist activity.
“And in the meantime we have got a situation where it is a huge source of discontent and problem within the world so it is important we deal with it.”
It has not been made clear what illness the Palestinian leader was suffering from, though doctors ruled out cancer and poisoning.
In his final hours, he had brain damage and kidney and liver failure.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will attend his funeral on behalf of the British Government.
Mr Straw called him “a towering figure not only in the Palestinian world but in the Arab world and it is difficult to imagine the Middle East without him”.
He also said: “There has to be a stronger level of communication between the Palestinians and the Israelis, a greater level of trust, and for sure ... more effective security arrangements by the Palestinian Authority.”
However, he also welcomed some of the “very, very courageous moves” Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is already making in respect of Mr Arafat’s vision of a road map of peace.
Tory leader Michael Howard said said there was a “deep sense of loss” among Palestinians.
“He sought to stand up for their interests,” Mr Howard said in a statement.
“But it will be for history to judge whether the failure to achieve a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel – something which I believe is both desirable and inevitable – was the failure of circumstance or of will.”
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said Mr Arafat had been “a remarkable figure on the international stage for decades and helped achieve great strides for the Palestinian cause“.
However, he added: “History will judge it as tragic that he was unable or unwilling to go the extra mile at a crucial time.
“It is to be hoped that a new generation of leaders can now seriously advance the Middle East peace process.”
Israel sealed the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip and sent troop reinforcements to the areas in response to Mr Arafat’s death.
Israel also increased security at Jewish settlements, fearing widespread Palestinian riots in the coming days.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation elected Mahmoud Abbas as its chief, virtually ensuring he will be the next leader of the Palestinians.
The British Government issued a fresh warning on travel to the Palestinian areas in the wake of his death. |
