WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (AFP) - Photos of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in his trademark black-and-white keffiyeh headdress, peered out from the front page of the major US dailies Thursday, with news of his death outside Paris dominating the day's coverage.
"Arafat dies at 75; No successor set," The New York Times declared in its lead story. "State for Palestinians and peace with Israel left unrealized."
The Washington Post wrote that Arafat "symbolized Palestinians' hopes and failures." But it noted in its four pages of coverage that "his lifelong dreams of self-determination for the Palestinian people remained elusive."
"It says much about the depths to which prospects for peace in the Mideast have fallen that it comes as a surprise that Israel and the Palestinians have agreed on where to bury Yasser Arafat, whose death was announced today in France," The New York Times said in an editorial.
"It's a modest achievement, but a hopeful one."
The Times noted that Palestinian leaders had "defanged" the burial issue by moving Arafat's planned interment site to Ramallah from a controversial location in East Jerusalem, home to Islam's sacred Noble Sanctuary and Judaism's holy Temple Mount.
"Right now, the Palestinians will be able to bury their leader with dignity and respect. It's a start, and given the intractable hostility of recent years, even a small start is a good thing," the daily's editorial board wrote.
USA Today opened its coverage with a lead story on page one, accompanied by a sizable drawing of the late Palestinian leader. "Arafat dies, leaves void," the newspaper's headline read.
The daily noted that Arafat's death had deprived the Palestinians of "the only leader they have known," suggesting, however, that it could mark "an opening for compromise" in the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Some 4,575 people, including 3,540 Palestinians and 961 Israelis, have been killed since the start of the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in September 2000.
11/11/2004 14:38 GMT - AFP