Hamas hands over Arafat’s house, minus some of its belongings
Hamas handed over the late President Arafat’s house to the Yasser Arafat Foundation, which some see as good step toward ending internal division, although some of the president’s belongings are missing.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hamas handed over the house of late President Yasser Arafat, the founder of the Fatah movement, west of Gaza City, to the Yasser Arafat Foundation on the evening of Nov. 11. Al-Monitor was there when some Fatah members posed with an Israeli Uzi submachine gun that was among Arafat’s belongings.
Zakaria al-Agha, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and a representative of the Yasser Arafat Foundation’s board of trustees, said during the handover ceremony that Arafat’s house was important because of its national symbolism. He added, “Our hearts are open to our Hamas brothers to overcome the Palestinian people’s division.”
