THE Palestinian parliamentary election set for July should be postponed, a senior Palestinian official said in an interview published yesterday, another sign that the ruling Fatah Party is deeply worried about the electoral prospects of militant Islamic groups.

The Palestinian parliament election, now set for July 17, should be delayed, a top Palestinian official said in an interview published today, a sign of growing unease in the ruling Fatah party with electoral gains made by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Yasser Arafat was laid to rest in a marble-and-stone grave today after his flag-draped coffin was borne through a sea of emotional Palestinians who swarmed around the helicopter that had carried him from a state funeral in Egypt.

YASSER ARAFAT, the guerrilla icon turned Nobel Peace Prize winner who ended up isolated and locked in renewed conflict with Israel, died yesterday, his dream of a Palestinian state unfulfilled. He was 75.

The body of Yasser Arafat, revered as the champion of Palestinian statehood and reviled as an opportunistic terrorist, was flown to Egypt tonight as the Middle East attempted to move forward in the search for peace.

YASSER ARAFAT’S wife yesterday accused his top lieutenants of seeking to grab control from her ailing husband, nearly torpedoing a visit by top Palestinian officials in the first sign of an open power struggle.

The caretaker Palestinian leadership decided today to travel to Yasser Arafat’s bedside, reversing a decision to call off the trip after being lambasted by the ailing 75-year-old leader’s wife.

Palestinian leaders abruptly called off a visit to Yasser Arafat's bedside today, after the ailing leader's wife accused them of trying to depose her husband.

YASSER ARAFAT yesterday ejected Israel's demand that he provide a list of everyone holed up with him in his besieged office, a Palestinian negotiator said.

Israel and the Palestinians have tentatively agreed to resume limited contacts, with the US as chaperone.