RAMALLAH, 5 November 2004 — As Yasser Arafat lay brain dead in a Paris hospital yesterday, Palestinians in every walk of life were numb with shock. Many glued to television, radio and Internet for the latest news on Abu Ammar, as Arafat is called, expressed this universal feeling that they couldn’t imagine a Palestinian state without Abu Ammar.
People in Palestine, which Arafat left less than a week ago for life-saving treatment in Paris, were already preparing to mourn their veteran leader. Flags were flying half-mast over Arafat’s headquarters compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah in tribute to the United Arab Emirates’ founding father, Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahayan, who died earlier this week.
But Palestinians were also facing up to the prospect of a more deep felt sense of loss as well as fearing chaos in the aftermath of his passing. “I can’t bear the thought he will die for good. He’s our national leader, the one and only,” said 33-year-old Mohammed Ribhi as his eyes filled with tears. Palestinian officials took to the airwaves to insist that talk of Arafat’s death had been grossly exaggerated.
However mother-of-two Reham Salah harbored few illusions that chaos could break out on the streets of the West Bank when Arafat departs the scene. “We hope he won’t go but it looks like it. We’re scared for the future, of internal chaos between factions and people seeking to take power,” said Reham flanked by her two ice-cream eating daughters.
“Democratic elections must be held as planned to decide on our future leader,” she said. Arafat announced last May that long-due presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections would be held next year.
Clothes seller Mohamed said Arafat had a status that no-one could match. “I’ll be very sad if he dies because he’s been our sole leader for decades and the symbol of our struggle,” he said. “If it were to happen, it must be clear to both the current Palestinian leadership and the rest of the world that we will not accept a leader that is imposed on us. We, the Palestinian people, must elect his successor,” he added.
Many young Palestinians said West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who has been sitting in an Israeli jail since April 2002 and was handed five life terms last June, would be their candidate of choice.
Others pointed their finger at Israel for being responsible for Arafat’s ailment by keeping him under siege in his Ramallah compound, or Muqataa, for nearly three years.
“I was inside the Muqataa and the living conditions are insalubrious so much so that even a healthy person would have become sick. How could a 75-year-old man have survived such environment,” said Mazen Ibrahim, a 45-year-old UN employee.
“Dear God protect our leader, Dear God protect our father,” chanted gunmen from Arafat’s Fatah faction, firing shots in the air as they joined crowds in Gaza’s streets.
“It will be a catastrophe. If Abu Ammar dies, I am afraid the Palestinian cause will die too,” said Hassan Ali, an 18-year-old student, referring to Arafat by his nom de guerre.
In Israel, where officials have long accused Arafat of fomenting Palestinian violence, security services were also bracing for Arafat’s death.
“Only God knows when he will die, but it will be a great loss as it will open the doors to civil strife,” said Tamam Hamoud, a government employee in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Taxi driver Abu Hamdi agreed. “I am afraid Palestinians would fight one another in Arafat’s absence. No one else has the ability to resolve problems at home,” he said.
“I can’t imagine a Palestinian state without Abu Ammar,” said Dana Al-Sheikh Taha, a university student in Ramallah.
Many Palestinians are also ready for his passing on another level. “The Palestinian people are ready both emotionally and practically,” said Qadura Fares, a Palestinian member of Parliament (MP) and senior member of the Fatah movement.
Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian MP and former peace negotiator, said it could produce “disorder, rivalries and vying for power” once Arafat is gone. “Arafat is a larger-than-life symbolic leader, which is a rare breed these days. He cannot be replaced,” she said.