Yasser Arafat dies

Arafat 1929-2004

Yasser Arafat had flown to France a while ago to be hospitalized. Reports have floated around saying that he had died, only to be retracted a few hours later. Most people, however, knew that this guy was approaching the end. Finally, a couple hours ago, it appears that he has actually died.

Now that he has finally died, I think it will be interesting to see how the power dynamics in Palestine will be shifting. I admit, I don't know what his death is going to do to affect the relationship between the Palestinians and the Israelis and their relationship to the Americans. Perhaps more importantly, how is the Palestinian leadership going to handle their people? Will the system that is in place now fail without Arafat? As I write, I am looking at live pictures of Palestine from CNN. Right now, the area is waking to this news. What are they thinking? What are they feeling?

While I don't particularly mourn this person, I will certainly not celebrate it either. For me, he has failed to make lasting headway into the peace process. I know there will be some who will be glad he is gone but I am just holding my breath. Now, let's see how history unfolds.