Arafat's legacy fading, fate of Fatah in question

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Arafat's legacy fading, fate of Fatah in question
As Hamas strengthens its stronghold on Gaza, the revered commander's followers hope to revive his fractured movement
MARK MACKINNON

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

June 21, 2007 at 5:04 AM EDT

GAZA CITY — Thirteen years ago this summer, Yasser Arafat made a triumphant return to Gaza after a 27-year absence, dramatically kissing the ground as thousands of followers jubilantly waved the banners of his Fatah movement and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Today, the unkempt grounds of the house he lived in during those illusory days are a museum to an era gone by, one of the last places where Mr. Arafat and his secular nationalist ideas still seem relevant in this place he once called home. Pictures of the late leader at the height of his power and charisma hang from the outer walls of the house, which has been empty since he moved to Ramallah in 2001.

Outside the stone walls of his compound, Hamas has stationed a trio of Kalashnikov-wielding youths. No one enters or leaves Mr. Arafat's old home without the permission of Abu Obeidah, Hamas's military commander. The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize that Mr. Arafat won along with Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres has gone missing.

The idea of armed Hamas men standing guard at his house would have been anathema to Mr. Arafat, who battled the Islamists almost as long and hard as he did the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But it's very much a sign of the times for Fatah and the PLO that they can do nothing about it but complain.

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