McAleese: Arafat commitment impressive

In a message to Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Mary McAleese said Mr Arafat had always impressed her with his unwavering commitment to the Palestinian people and their future in the region.

Prof McAleese was speaking before her inauguration today as President for a second term in a ceremony at Dublin Castle.

“President Arafat has been a key figure in the efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict on the basis of two states living in peace within secure and agreed borders,” she said.

“His passing is a tragic loss to the Palestinian people for whom he has been a unifying figure for decades.”

Ms McAleese expressed hope that the efforts which he began to bring peace to the region and a state for his people would find fruition in the near future.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern described Mr Arafat’s role in the struggle for a Palestinian state as “unparalleled”.

He said it was tragic that both Mr Arafat and the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize, did not live to see their two states living side by side in peace.

He said Ireland would support his colleagues in carrying that vision forward.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny acknowledged that Mr Arafat made mistakes and missed opportunities. But he said they must be weighed against the enormity of what he found himself up against over the years, “typified by Israeli intransigence and the tinderbox that is Gaza”.

The Government will be represented at senior political level at Mr Arafat’s funeral.