Arafat dead?

I am faster than CNN, nytimes.com, FOXnews, ABCnews, CBSnews, and others, to tell you that according to the prime minister of Louxembourg as well as the Israeli TV that received the news from the French sources, Yasser Arafat just died. He's been declared clinically dead by his doctors.



However, the Palestinian prime minister denies the information, citing Arafat's wife. The spokesperson of the hospital rejects the news, too. Nevertheless, all the semi-reliable statements are compatible with the conjecture that Arafat is technically alive, but brain dead.



Let's now assume that the news is correct after all and Arafat will never wake up again.



It's always sad if someone whom you know dies. Although Czechoslovakia played a rather important role in establishing the state of Israel, the communists eventually allied with Arafat, and the Palestinian state was presented as our friends.



Later, one had to learn about all these Arab terrorists in Israel - and Yasser Arafat was provoking them. Although Arafat dedicated his blood after 9/11, and he was not such a terribly negative figure after all, I am pretty sure that the post-Arafat era will be a bit happier for Israel and there will be new chances for peace in Israel and Palestine. Arafat has been the only true leader in Palestine, and the Palestinians will probably become a bit frustrated without him.