RAMALLAH,
November 11, 2014 (WAFA) – Activists from the anti-Zionism group Neturei Karta, an
international organization of Orthodox Jews, participated on Tuesday in the
commemoration marking the 10th anniversary of the death of late
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah.
Thousands of
pro-Arafat Palestinians set off from across the West Bank areas on Tuesday morning
and made their way to Ramallah, where a central rally was organized to
commemorate Palestinians’ beloved Arafat’s death in the Presidential
headquarters, locally known as Muqata’a, where he remained under Israeli siege for
the last three years of his life before his death on November 11, 2004 at a
French military hospital outside Paris.
Following
Arafat’s death, the Palestinian committee investigating his death accused
Israel of poisoning him, and demanded an international investigation into his
death.
Swiss,
Russian and French forensic experts took samples of Arafat’s remains after
exhuming his body on November 27 of last year.
Swiss
pathologists said that traces of radioactive element polonium were found,
proving that he was poisoned, while French investigations into the matter said
the traces found were not enough to cause his death, ruling that his death was
due to ‘natural causes’.
Neturei
Karta’s activists and rabbis were among the so many thousands of Arafat’s fans who
were present at the central rally. They waved pro-Palestine banners as well as
Palestine flags, and called for the liberation of Palestine and restoring the
Palestinian legitimate rights.
President
Mahmoud Abbas, who delivered a speech marking his predecessor’s death,
expressed his appreciation for the anti-Zionism movement and praised its
position that is committed to the Palestinian rights, adding that people from
different religious backgrounds can live together in coexistence.
Neturei
Karta opposes Zionism and calls for a peaceful dismantling of the State of
Israel, believing that Jews are not entitled to have their own state
until the coming of the Jewish Messiah. They live as a part of larger Haredi
communities around the globe.
M.N./T.R.
