RAMALLAH (West Bank), Aug 4: Palestinians gathered at the graveside of Yasser Arafat on Thursday to mark what would have been the 76th birthday of their late patriarch, mourning his absence on the eve of Israel’s pullout from Gaza. Nine months after his death, supporters of the man who symbolised the struggle for independence for nearly half a century said they wanted to show their respects at his tomb in the grounds of the Muqataa leadership compound.

Jamal Yassin, originally from Ramallah but has lived for the last three decades in Guatemala, said that he had decided to make the grave the first stop on a tour back to his homeland.

“It was the first thing I wanted to do when I came back to visit Palestine,” said the 50-year-old businessman, accompanied by his Guatemalan wife Sara.

“I admired and respected him. He was the symbol of our struggle.” But Mazem Shkokani, a trader from Ramallah, said it was a source of great sadness that Arafat had not been able to live to see the back of Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip who are due to be evacuated this month.

“It was a tragedy Abu Ammar (Arafat) never lived to see liberated Gaza,” he said. At a rally in Gaza City, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei also paid tribute to his long-time boss with whom he had an often stormy relationship.

“As we celebrate the birthday of the heroic martyr Abu Ammar, we vow to continue on his path to secure the liberation of the West Bank,” said Qorei.

—AFP