Palestinian reaction to Arafat death
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 Locals in Cairo's Sakakini quarter recall young Yasser Arafat.
 Retirement is a rarity among Arab leaders.
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(CNN) -- The following is Palestinian reaction to the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat:
From Arab Knesset Member Azmi Bshara: "We relied on him in certain political core issues since the man (Arafat) was a "safe guard" and because his presence at the negotiation meant no giving up.
"I am saying this since many in Jerusalem and in the U.S. think that the end of a stage means an end of a stance and that the situation will be open for other things.
"The first thing that comes to mind is the unity and the clinging to it in these current circumstances since we have historic burdens called, the right to return, Jerusalem and the liberation from occupation that the Palestinian leadership alongside the Palestinian people must carry on."
From Haydar Abdulshafi, the head of the Palestinian delegation during the Madrid Peace Convention: "President Arafat was a loyal president who dedicated himself for the national services without having any personal ambitions.
"There is one thing I hoped he would have achieved, that is national unity.
"We must admit that despite the multiplicity of Palestinian factions, he managed to maintain the situation, nevertheless, we needed and still are in need of a united Palestinian stance.
"We still need the entire Palestinian factions to be unified in one body and to reach one united stance supported and committed to by all of us following the death of President Arafat, may God have mercy on him."
From Maher A-Taher, the Spokesperson of the Popular Front for Palestine Liberation: "We are confronting an extremely difficult and complicated stage, however, the Palestinian people that have heroic steadfastness will be capable of overcoming this crisis through their embracing resistance for the independence of the homeland.
"The history will register his historic stance in Camp David when he rejected the huge Israeli and American pressures exercised on him and kept clinging to the goal of independent state, Jerusalem and the right to return. The march of president Arafat has some major achievements and some other failures.
"We disagreed with him in some issues and agreed with him on many others. The Palestinians are required in these critical moments to be united and to deepen our internal unity and to confront the Israeli plans that anticipate the split. I believe that all will feel the burden of responsibility and the dangers surrounding the Palestinian cause.
"We will disappoint Israel by intensifying the unity and continue with the march of hopes and pains until the flag of Palestine will be raised in Jerusalem. We are requested today to form a national collective leadership including the entire Palestinian factions.
"Furthermore, we must take a serious stance towards holding a Palestinian national council to revive the PLO with its institute. The PLO is a collective and national frame that includes the Palestinian people inside the homeland and abroad. Also we need to hold an election for the PNA in order to fell the vacuum that has been created. I address our brothers in Fatah movement and the entire Palestinian people saying we are all united."
From Jebril Rjoub, personal adviser to Yasser Arafat: "This is a historic and important moment in my life and the life of the Palestinian people. The term of President Arafat has ended, however, the commitments and loyalty to his march concerned with the establishment of the state and the reinforcement of our identity are now the responsibility of the entire Palestinian people.
"Fatah members have priorities beginning from overcoming the current stage through the legitimacy of the intuitions regardless of the extend of its legitimacy toward reaching the next stage of reinforcing these institutions through holding general election. We hope that the burial of President Arafat will not be also the burial of the independent state and ending the occupation and the goal of liberation and independence.
"I will reassert that the next stage will not be similar to the stage of President Arafat since he was the sole person to recognize the importance of the national unity. There was no one leader along the course of history capable of bearing the ramifications of saying no to the Americans and the Israelis.
"The arrangements of the president's burial ceremony begins with his arrival tomorrow morning to Cairo where an official ceremony will be held then his body will be transported to Al-A`rish then to Ramallah where he will be temporarily buried until the appropriate circumstance will be available to transport his body to Jerusalem at the yards of Al-Aqsa mosque.
From Nafedh A`zzam, Islamic Jihad leader: "President Arafat did not represent only Fatah or Palestine, but also the voice looking for freedom in order to confront aggression, colonialism and the occupation. We disagreed with him in some stations, however, the last few years that were harsh for the Palestinian people were also glorious in the life of President Arafat during which he strongly confronted the American pressures and with rare courage bore the siege and the attempts to marginalize him.
"The death of President Arafat does not mean the surrendering of the Palestinian people. Analysts around the world suggest the idea of controversies erupting after his death. We are truly optimistic that disputes will be put aside even if they erupt. We have disagreements with Fatah, with the PA, however, due to the holiness of the Palestinian cause, all these disputes will be left aside.
"The Islamic Jihad movement will exert the utmost efforts to unite the Palestinian people in order to continue the march of President Arafat. It is true that a new page in the history of the Palestinian people will be opened by the death of President Arafat, however, we are cautious that it will be a pure page decorated by the resistance of this people and will be concluded with honor as President Arafat's life had ended.
"Several ideas have been suggested during the meetings held last week mainly with Abu A'la that might be briefed in the participation of all parties or the necessity of forming a leadership body including the Palestinian active factions. It is still hard talking now about the means to implement this idea, however, it is apparent that all parties, the Islamic and the national, have the will to overcome the current painful stage and to maintain the united national Palestinian stance and to reach a collective formula agreed upon by the entire Palestinian factions.
"We believe that the negotiations period has been concluded and feel bitterness and disgust by the statements of the American president claiming there is big chance following President Arafat's death to reach a peace agreement. These statements actually ridicule our sad feelings and assert the bias of the American policy in favor of Israel. Yasser Arafat was not the obstacle but it was rather Israel and the US is also the obstacle due to its subjective policy.
From Khaled Mesha'al, head of Hamas Politburo Office: "Several achievements are registered in the history of President Arafat either on the level of maintaining the Palestinian national unity or on the level of confronting Israel.
"The history registers his national stance during Camp David when he refused to give up Jerusalem and his clinging to the Palestinian national right. We disagreed with President Arafat in several stations since it is a natural matter to disagree during a political struggle, however, when we saw that the U.S. and Israel consider him as irrelevant and that they even besieged him, then we stood beside him and I was contacting him on a weekly base.
"I do not hesitate accusing Israel of killing Yasser Arafat and I call on my brothers in Fatah and in the PNA not to keep silent in this regard. I call on my brothers at Fatah movement to reinforce the unity of the movement since it is the interest of Hamas and the entire Palestinian people that Fatah be united and strong. I call them also to avoid any dispute and in return we in Hamas and the entire Palestinian people will reinforce our national unity."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
