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Palestinians march through northern Gaza. (AP)
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| By israelinsider staff November 11, 2004 |
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In life, Yasser Arafat called for a "million martyr march" and expressed the wish that he himself would be counted among the shahidim, destined to buried on the Temple Mount.
In Arafat's dying days, Israel ruled our Jerusalem as a burial site."Jerusalem is a city where Jewish kings are buried, not Arab terrorists and mass murderers," Israeli Minister of Justice Yosef Lapid pronounced.
Beyond the symbolic and historical objection, Israel's expressed preference for a Gaza burial was a persistent concern that a burial in the West Bank would entail a high risk of an attempt by masses of mourners to forcibly march on Jerusalem and bury Arafat there.
Palestinians have fueled that concern with statements that Arafat would not be buried in his formers headquarters and place of confinement in the Muqata in Ramallah, several miles north of Jerusalem. Rather he would be interred in an above-ground temporary stone tomb so it would be ready for subsequent transfer to a permanent burial in Jerusalem.
Israeli security officials express the fear that members of the funeral procession will actually try to "snatch the body" from the Muqata, turning south and trying to cross or bypass one of the several checkpoints which separate Ramallah and Israel's capital.
To prevent such developments, The Israel Defense Forces began Thursday to implement its "New Page" plan, which outlines emergency measures to be taken in the immediate aftermath of Arafat's death. In keeping with the first phase of the plan, roadblocks were erected Thursday morning around major Palestinian population.
The entire West Bank was placed under closure Thursday morning, Israel Radio reported. The Gaza Strip was already closed for movements into or out of Israel. While demonstrations have begun across the territories, there have no reports of significant disturbances or violence.
According to the New Page plan, security officials say, IDF troops plan to isolate Jerusalem from the West Bank city of Ramallah during Arafat's burial service there after a brief funeral ceremony in Cairo on Friday. The step will seek to prevent a possible Palestinian attempt to have Arafat buried on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Defense officials believe that the chance that this will happen is remote, but a number of events have coincided to raise the risk of such a scenario emerging.
The funeral and burial will take place on the last Friday of Ramadan, which traditionally attracts very large numbers of Muslim worshippers the Temple Mount during the regular Friday mosque service. Security sources said that the timing of the two events would create difficulties for the police, since officers would need to allocate large forces both to the funeral procession and to the Temple Mount.
Trying to minimize the risk of riots and confontations in Jerusalem, Israel announced late Thursday that entry to the Temple Mount would be permitted only to men 45 or older with Jerusalem residency or Israeli citizenship. Young West Bankers will not be allowed in.
Although there is no specific intelligence regarding plans to instigate riots, several violent incidents in East Jerusalem on Tuesday, in which dozens of Muslim worshipers clashed with policemen after emerging from neighborhood mosques, are believed likely to repeat themselves on Friday.
Channel Two television correspondents in Ramallah said that Palestinian youths told them not to be deceived by the relative calm of Thursday's demonstrations. "Wait till tomorrow!" they told the reporters.
Speeches by Palestinian officials have been inflaming passions. Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, who was hmself once poisoned by the Mossad, blaming Israel for poisoning Arafat. PA leaders, including Nabil Sha'ath, blamed Israel causing his death by confining him in the Muqata. Demonstrators in the West Bank chanted: "The heir of Arafat is the rifle!"
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