Palestinians hold vigils for Arafat

cctv.com 11-06-2004 11:40

Hundreds of Yasser Arafat's supporters have gathered to hold vigils for him outside the hospital where he is being treated. Palestinians living in the United States have also expressed their deep concerns over the leader's health.

After suddenly falling ill early this week, aides to Arafat say the leader is at a critical juncture between life and death. Among those keeping watch is Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, who arrived from the United States to show solidarity with Arafat and the Palestinians.

Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss said, "We are ashamed that this has been done in our name so we are here to express our solidarity and sympathy with the Palestinian people and as a matter of fact Arafat is the Palestinian leader who sacrificed his life for the Palestinian cause and were he mainly to do it on practical terms to achieve that Arafat is buried in Jerusalem."

Palestinians living in Washington DC are also speculating on what the future will hold without him, as he is believed to be central to the Middle East peace process.

At the city's Islamic Center, people arriving for Friday prayers gave their views on what Arafat means to Palestinians.

A Palestinian said, "Yasser Arafat is a big deal, is a lot, is too much things, from like you're dreaming something and you have hopes in something and it starts to turn into reality and true and it worked for like '93, since 93 to 2000, for seven years, people was in peace and so forth, and hope to keep going like that and it start changing."

A hospital spokesman has sought to quash rumors that Arafat was dead and said his condition is stable.

At Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestinian soldiers were glued to the television for further updates, and cheered when they heard the president's health had not worsened.

Editor:Chen  Source:CCTV.com