Israel Matzav

'Poor Palestinians' spend $1.5MM on a mausoleum for Arafat

The 'Palestinian Authority' unveiled a new mausoleum today that was built in memory of Yasser Arafat at a cost of $1.5 MM. Arafat died of AIDS three years ago tomorrow.

The mausoleum, made of glass and beige Jerusalem stone, is surrounded on three sides by water, and a piece of rail track is entombed underneath Arafat's grave. The water and piece of track are meant to symbolize the temporary nature of the grave, officials said, with Palestinians planning to rebury their leader one day in Jerusalem, their hoped-for capital.

Arafat died Nov. 11, 2004 in a French military hospital and was buried on the grounds of his West Bank headquarters, now used by Abbas. The mausoleum measures 11 meters by 11 meters (120 square feet) to mark the day of his death. A mosque was built next to the tomb, and an Arafat museum is slated to open next year.

I wonder whether the 'museum' will show the trail of money from all the foreign aid he collected to his Swiss bank accounts.

"We will continue on the path of the martyred President Yasser Arafat to be reburied in Jerusalem, which he loved ... Jerusalem, which he tried to make, and which all our people are trying to make, the capital of the Palestinian state," Abbas said.

In another reference to Jerusalem, the tower of the mosque next to the mausoleum is topped by a laser light pointing to the holy city, just a few miles away, said Mohammed Ishtayeh, head of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction, the organization that built the structure.

That's the first thing Muslims have ever pointed towards Jerusalem. Normally, they point their bottoms towards Jerusalem as they pray towards Mecca.

A memorial service marking the third anniversary of Arafat's death is scheduled for Sunday, to be held at the West Bank compound. Abbas is expected to give an address, as will a top official belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am ? Ta'al) is also planning to speak at the ceremony.

A similar gathering is scheduled to take place Monday in Gaza.

It should be a hot time in Gaza on Monday. Is Tibi going to Gaza too? I wonder if we could keep him out of the Knesset for visiting a hostile state if he goes.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:50 PM