innalilahay-waina-aliherajeoon

Controversial leader, 75, succumbs to unknown disease





The French military hospital where he had been treated since Oct. 29 said he died at 3:30 a.m. The Palestinian leader spent his final days there in a coma. Doctors would not disclose what ailment killed Arafat.




In the first comment from an Israeli official, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid blamed Arafat for global terrorism and the failure to achieve Middle East peace, but expressed hope of improved relations under new leadership.

“I hated him for the deaths of Israelis. ... I hated him for not allowing the peace process ... to move forward,” Lapid told Israel Radio.


President Bush issued a statement of condolence to the Palestinian people.

“The death of Yasser Arafat is a significant moment in Palestinian history. We express our condolences to the Palestinian people. For the Palestinian people, we hope that the future will bring peace and the fulfillment of their aspirations for an independent, democratic Palestine that is at peace with its neighbors,” the president’s statement said.