Word: ramallah
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...rises from the bottom of wounds, pains, failures and defeats. His mistakes hurt you, bad, but after all he did he came back home, looked you in the eye, cried and embraced you. You and he, in times of hardship, were always together. Whether it was Amman, Beirut, or Ramallah, he was, literally with you in your pain. He held your shoulders and no matter how dark it got, you always knew he was right there next to you, and you were more than ready to take a bullet...
...national symbol that despite that absence of consensus, Palestinian leaders ranging from moderate liberals such as Hanan Ashrawi to the hard-eyed bombers of Hamas have concurred on the role of the aging revolutionary, who spent his last three years living under virtual house arrest at the Ramallah compound where his organization now plans to inter his remains, as the symbolic personification of their national aspirations. Responding to efforts last week by Arafat's wife, Suha, to restrict access to her husband during his last days alive, Ashrawi, who had often publicly differed with Arafat on matters of policy...
...organization, and even if he had found the political will to pursue that course, it was doubtful whether he had the political authority to prevail. Arafat had become a prisoner not only of the Israelis, but also of his own contradictory strategy. The battered compound in Ramallah from which he watched history pass him by will now literally become his tomb...
...monitoring the health reports out of Ramallah more avidly than Arafat's old foe Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. For perhaps the final time, the two lions of the Middle East conflict find their destinies entwined. Sharon has promised that if Arafat is able to return, Israel won't block him. But just as a potentially seismic shake-up of the Palestinian leadership was developing, there were deep rumblings on the Israeli side as well. Sharon won approval last week in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, for a bill scheduling the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza to begin next...
...When Abbas was briefly Prime Minister last year, President Bush backed him and Sharon had to go along--until Arafat's backstairs maneuvers frustrated Abbas into resignation. Israeli political analysts believe that despite his condemnations of Arafat, Sharon was perfectly happy to let his old nemesis linger on in Ramallah, providing a flesh-and-blood excuse to avoid peace talks. A new Palestinian partner would force Sharon to decide whether he's truly willing to make further concessions to achieve a comprehensive peace. For both sides, that test could prove to be just as fateful as the treatment undertaken...