The former Palestinian prime minister is the new PLO chief.

The former Palestinian prime minister is the new PLO chief.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- Yasser Arafat, revered as the champion of Palestinian statehood and reviled as a terrorist, died today at the age of 75, which spread spasms of grief among Palestinians and rekindled calls for new peace talks with Israel.
His passing marked the end of an era in modern Middle East history, and prompted calls from President Bush and other world leaders to seize the moment to spur new efforts at Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
In a hurried effort to project continuity, the PLO elected former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas as its new chief, virtually ensuring he will succeed Arafat as leader of the Palestinians, at least for an interim period.
The Palestinian legislature also swore in Parliament Speaker Rauhi Fattouh as caretaker president of the Palestinian Authority until elections can be held in 60 days, according to Palestinian law.
Died in Paris
Arafat died at 3:30 a.m. Paris time (9:30 p.m. EST Wednesday) at a French military hospital. Neither his doctors nor Palestinian leaders said what killed him.
"He closed his eyes and his big heart stopped. He left for God but he is still among this great people," said senior Arafat aide Tayeb Abdel Rahim, who broke into tears as he announced Arafat's death.
A wave of grief quickly swept across the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Thousands of Palestinians ran into the streets, clutching his photograph, crying and wondering about their future without the man who embodied their struggle for statehood.
"He is our father," Namia Abu-Safia, 48, said sobbing in the Jebaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. "He is Palestine."
Black smoke from burning tires rose across the Gaza Strip, and gunmen fired into the air in grief. Palestinian flags at Arafat's battered compound here were lowered to half staff. Church bells rang out, and Quranic verses were played for hours over mosque loudspeakers.
The Palestinian Cabinet declared 40 days of mourning for Arafat, and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Gaza, a militant group linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, decided to change its name to the Martyr Yasser Arafat Brigades.
Fearing the mourning could rapidly turn into rioting, Israel quickly sealed the West Bank and Gaza Strip and increased security at Jewish settlements.
Arafat's health began deteriorating last month. Palestinian officials initially insisted he had a lingering case of the flu, but they grew increasingly concerned when he did not recover.
He was rushed to France on Oct. 29 for emergency medical treatment, marking the first time in nearly three years he left his compound -- where he had been held virtual prisoner by Israel. The image of the ailing leader being evacuated on a Jordanian helicopter convinced many Palestinians that he would never return alive.
A small ceremony, including French President Jacques Chirac, Palestinian officials and Arafat's widow, Suha, was to be held at a military airfield outside Paris this evening.
Going to Egypt
Afterward, Arafat's body will be flown to Cairo, Egypt, where a funeral attended by foreign dignitaries will be held for him Friday morning. Egypt frantically spruced up a modest mosque at Cairo's international airport for a military funeral and a short procession led by a horse-drawn carriage. Security forces also were placed on maximum alert.
After the service, Arafat's body will be flown by helicopter to his Ramallah compound for burial.
The Israeli military said all West Bank Palestinians would be allowed to attend, though they would have to pass through checkpoints. Only VIPs will be permitted to come from Gaza, a military official said, adding that Israel had information that terror groups would use the funeral to plan an attack.
Sharon's reaction
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has shunned his longtime nemesis as a terrorist and obstructionist, said Arafat's death could serve as a "historic turning point in the Middle East" and expressed hope the Palestinians would now work to stop terrorism. In a sign of the enmity the two men shared even in death, Sharon refused to mention Arafat by name.
Insisting that with Arafat at the helm it was impossible to discuss peace with the Palestinians, Sharon had pushed forward with his "unilateral disengagement" plan. Under the plan, Israel will evacuate the Gaza Strip next year and continue building a West Bank barrier to separate Israelis from Palestinians.
Nabil Shaath, the Palestinian foreign minister, called on Israel to resume implementation of the U.S.-backed road map peace plan. He told The Associated Press that Israel had used its dislike for Arafat as an excuse for avoiding obligations to withdraw from West Bank towns.
"Now, the road is open, and we are telling the Israelis, welcome. If you want to implement the road map, then implement it," Shaath said. "It was the path of President Arafat, and we will go on the path of Arafat."
As much of his life was filled with controversy, so, too, was Arafat's death.
The Palestinians had demanded he be buried in Jerusalem on the disputed holy site that once held the biblical Jewish temples and now holds Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine.
Israel refused, fearing a Jerusalem burial would strengthen Palestinians' claims to a city they envision as a capital of a future Palestinian state.
In a compromise, the Palestinians agreed to bury him at his compound here, the muqata, battered and strewn with rubble from repeated Israeli raids. But they plan to line his grave with soil taken from the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, said Ahmed Ghneim, a Fatah leader, and he is to be interred in a cement box so his body can be moved to Jerusalem when the opportunity presents itself.