RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Yasser Arafat was laid to rest amid scenes of chaos at his West Bank headquarters as thousands of Palestinians packed into the compound to catch a last glimpse of their leader.
The body of Arafat, who died Thursday at age 75, was placed in a grave topped with soil from his beloved Jerusalem, a Palestinian flag, floral wreathes and the chequered black-and-white keffiyeh that was his trademark.
Thousands of Palestinians surged around the Egyptian military helicopter that brought the body to Ramallah from Cairo, where a military funeral was attended by dozens of foreign dignitaries.
Overwhelmed Palestinian security forces shot into the air as the hordes prevented the flag-draped coffin from being unloaded for some 20 minutes.
The coffin was then placed atop a car, but mourners swarmed as security forces tried to wade through the sea of people packed into the Ramallah compound, where Israel kept Arafat under virtual house arrest for the last three years of his life.
Arafat was buried in a corner of one of the Muqataa`s courtyards before the crowd began a prayer joined by Palestinian leaders, including newly appointed Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman Mahmud Abbas and prime minister Ahmed Qorei.
Tayssir el-Tamimi, head of religious courts in the Palestinian territories, who visited him at his hospital bedside in France before his death, sprinkled soil from Jerusalem atop the coffin.
Arafat had always wanted to be buried in the grounds of Jerusalem`s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is the third holiest site in Islam, but Israeli authorities categorically ruled that out.
After lying in a coma for a week at a French military hospital outside Paris, Arafat was pronounced dead early Thursday by medics who have not revealed the nature of his illness.
The passing of the man who spearheaded the Palestinian national struggle for four decades has been seen by many as an opportunity to revive the moribund peace process.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had refused to meet Arafat but he hosted Abbas on a number of occasions last year when the new PLO supremo was premier.
Sharon said Thursday that Arafat`s death "could mark a historic turning point for the Middle East," adding that new peace talks were possible with a "new, serious, responsible leadership".
US President George W. Bush, who also boycotted Arafat, said there was now a "great chance" to create an independent Palestinian state living at peace with Israel by the time he leaves office in 2009.
"I believe we`ve got a great chance to establish a Palestinian state," he said. "I would like to see it done in four years. I think it is possible," he said after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Washington on Friday.
"Our sympathies are with the Palestinian people as they begin a period of mourning. Yet the months ahead offer a new opportunity to make progress toward a lasting peace."
But Arafat`s nephew, Nasser al-Qidwa, the Palestinian representative to the United Nations, said his uncle`s passing should not necessarily signal radical change.
"I think it`s a monumental development but it`s not the end of an era," he told AFP as he received condolences from dignitaries and diplomats. "I hope there will be continuity. This is essential.
"This is the passing away of the big leader of the Palestinian people. It imposes on all of us a heavy responsibility, but we have strong institutions and good people who can decide for themselves and this hopefully will go in the right way."
In Cairo, presidents and kings from across the globe attended a funeral fit for a head of state for the man who failed to deliver his people an independent nation.
The funeral was the highest-profile gathering of international leaders in the region, with representatives from some 60 countries were present, since that of Syrian president Hafez al-Assad in 2000.
It was held on the final Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the day many faithful celebrate as Al-Qods (Jerusalem) Day.
Among the heads of state attending were Jordan`s King Abdullah II, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and, despite years of frosty relations between Damascus and the Palestinian leader, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Arafat`s widow Suha and their daughter Zahwa joined the mourners, but did not make the trip to Ramallah, instead staying on to receive condolences, according to Palestinian political sources.
While the service in Cairo was a model of decorum, Palestinian security services struggled to restrain the flood of mourners who flocked to Ramallah from the start.
Although entrance into the Muqataa was limited to family and dignitaries, at least 10,000 people managed to force their way into the compound through the main gate while thousands more were seated on the walls of the Muqataa.
At one stage a wooden structure inside the Muqataa collapsed under the weight of a throng of mourners, causing injuries.
Palestinian negotiations minister Saeb Erakat, who was aboard Arafat`s helicopter, said the scenes when it landed were so chaotic that the pilot had nearly taken off again.
"I told the crowds `he was a soldier of Palestine. Honour him. He deserves your honour`," Erakat told CNN.
11/12/2004 - 19:30 GMT - AFP