Yasser Arafat was born in Cairo but the choice of this city as the venue for his funeral has more to do with politics than personal roots: Arab leaders would be loathe to travel to the Palestinian territories while the lands remain under Israeli control.Hosting Arafat’s funeral is an extension of Egypt’s role as a major player in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and provides Cairo an opportunity to strengthen ties with those who may succeed him. The government said Friday’s service would be a military funeral, as opposed to a state funeral, underscoring Arafat’s failure to achieve Palestinian statehood.Full Story