Arafat Funeral to Be Held in Cairo Mosque
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