Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has laid a wreath at the mausoleum of former PA chairman Yasser Arafat, ahead of the third anniversary of his death. Arafat died in a Parisian hospital on the 11th of November 2004. Although the cause of death has never been revealed by the French authorities, it is widely believed that Arafat died of aids.

Quote: "Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath Monday said that all types of cancer had been ruled out, and the latest news is that French doctors have ruled out poisoning. Medical observers note that a low blood platelet count is a sign of a weakened immune system, and indeed last week there were reports of a complete collapse of Arafat's immune system. Other than the ruled-out cancer, the low count could be attributed to bleeding ulcers, colitis, liver disease, lupus, or HIV. It is believed that ulcers and colitis have already been ruled out. Arafat has lost a considerable amount of body weight. Hopital d'Instruction des Armees de Percy, southwest of Paris, is known to have some of France's best HIV/AIDS doctors. Other medical experts note that Arafat's activities in recent weeks and months suggest the dementia that accompanies late-stage AIDS.

According to this report from Israeli Insider, the CIA knew of Arafat's homosexual liaisons and believed he had not long to live. The US government advised then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon not to take him out, but rather to have him discredited in the press as a homosexual. But that never happened. Instead the Arabs blamed Israel for poisoning him, and the French authorities falsified the death certificate. The press reports that Arafat died following a two-year Israeli siege on his Ramallah compound, they make mention of his "mysterious" illness, but no mention is made of Arafat's homosexuality.  A mausoleum has been constructed by the Palestinian Authority for the Palestinian leader at the cost of $2million. The tomb is 11 metres by 11 metres, marking the day on which he died. The complex also houses a mosque, and a minaret from which a laser beam is directed at Jerusalem, the place where Arafat desired to be buried. Abbas has vowed to continue Arafat's "struggle" for a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Quote: ""We will continue on the path to set up the independent Palestinian state with [Jerusalem] as its capital, God willing," Mr Abbas said. The opening ceremony included Palestinian honour guards in navy green uniforms with golden epaulettes, with a brass band playing and prayers from a local imam. "The monument is built on a natural spring, and the water signifies that it is temporary, for it will be moved to Jerusalem after liberation," project supervisor Mohammed Ashtiyah was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

This story reminds us of the Israelite patriarch Joseph, who made mention of the departing of Israel, and prophesied that they would bury his bones within the promised land (Genesis 50:25). Of course the irony of all this is that the bones of Joseph are buried in Shechem (Joshua 34:22), the same place on which the US is presently spending millions of dollars in an effort to secure President Abbas' hold on the city. Joseph's tomb has been desecrated many times by Palestinian terrorists living in Judea and Samaria. Praise God that we have no bones by which to verify our claim to the promised land. But we have a risen Saviour, who intercedes for us before the throne of God. Our hope is not that we shall be buried in the promised land, but that our eyes shall behold the land that is very far off (Isaiah 33:17). Even so, come Lord Jesus. 

Source Israeli Insider, BBC