"Egypt will always continue to be the heart of Arabs and Arabism, and all freedom fighters will continue come to it from everywhere," wrote Samir Ragab in Al-Gomhuriya's Saturday edition. This was evident, Ragab wrote, in the "reverent and glorious reception of the body of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and the solemn and dignified funeral in Cairo...."
Ragab explained: "Egypt asserts everyday that its will cannot be the subject of bargaining.... [E]verybody knew in advance that Egypt would never... [bend] its principles for any reason whatsoever. Egypt has always declared that Yasser Arafat, 'Abu Ammar', is the legitimate and undisputed president of the Palestinians, who chose him by their own free will."
Furthermore, "[A]ll countries, East and West, that sent their representatives to Cairo were quite certain that they were coming to a great country that enjoys all the constitutional, legal and historic attributes of a modern state."
Emphasizing that in Ramallah "huge crowds" surged towards "the Egyptian plane" that carried Arafat's body, Ragab concluded: "[N]o Palestinian will calm down unless and until they see the flags of liberation heralding the creation of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital."
Ragab explained: "Egypt asserts everyday that its will cannot be the subject of bargaining.... [E]verybody knew in advance that Egypt would never... [bend] its principles for any reason whatsoever. Egypt has always declared that Yasser Arafat, 'Abu Ammar', is the legitimate and undisputed president of the Palestinians, who chose him by their own free will."
Furthermore, "[A]ll countries, East and West, that sent their representatives to Cairo were quite certain that they were coming to a great country that enjoys all the constitutional, legal and historic attributes of a modern state."
Emphasizing that in Ramallah "huge crowds" surged towards "the Egyptian plane" that carried Arafat's body, Ragab concluded: "[N]o Palestinian will calm down unless and until they see the flags of liberation heralding the creation of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital."