Palestinians mourn loss of their leader

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of the Gaza Strip in a show of grief over Yasser Arafat’s death today, while others in the West Bank reacted with tears and tributes.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top Arafat aide, said Arafat would be buried on Saturday in Ramallah in what he called a “national day of farewell.”

A memorial service was to be held in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday.

Palestinian flags at Arafat’s battered compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah were lowered to half staff. Television broadcast excerpts from the Quran with a picture of Arafat in the background.

In Gaza, people fired guns into the air and waved Palestinian flags. Loudspeakers blared famous quotes from Arafat. Mosques blared Quranic verses and children burned tires on the main streets, covering the skies in black smoke. People pasted posters of Arafat on building walls.

“He closed his eyes and his big heart stopped. He left for God but he is still among this great people,” said senior Arafat aide Tayeb Abdel Rahim, who broke into tears as he announced Arafat’s death.

“We will follow in your footsteps and we will continue in your line,” Abdel Rahim told reporters at Arafat’s Ramallah headquarters.