I saw a little bit of Arafat's funeral/burial ceremony today on the news. I haven't heard of any death toll but up to 120 were injured; but remarkably it appears that only four were injured by gunshots or shrapnel. Pretty amazing when you consider how much ordnance was being fired into the air. Even Saeb Erekat seemed to be fearing for his own life as he opened the door of the helicopter.
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There is a lot of hope for peace now that Arafat is gone. After all, it was Arafat himself who rejected a very generous offer made by the Israelis a couple of years ago.
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But I'm not so optimistic, given what I saw on TV today and comments made by Hamas. The Palestinians have had a strong leader for so long, and despite otherwise peaceful efforts made by other lofty officials of the PA, Arafat was the true leader. Now the Palestinians are in effect, leaderless. There may be anarchy there like we've never seen. Israel may have to resort to more forceful measures if things get out of hand. Just another chess piece in the whole complicated Middle East situation.
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What really concerns me is that Arafat died a rather peaceful death considering his violent legacy. This may embolden other leading terrorists.
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Many admired Arafat, even heads of state. But don't let that fool you. Today, a terrorist was laid to rest.
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