RAMALLAH, Nov 10: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday inaugurated a mausoleum built over Yasser Arafat’s grave and vowed to continue on his iconic predecessor’s path in seeking statehood.

Abbas said he hoped Arafat’s wish to be buried in Jerusalem could still be fulfilled, along with Palestinians’ dream of making the disputed city the capital of their future state.

“We will continue on the path to set up the independent Palestinian state with (Jerusalem) as its capital, God willing,” Abbas said at an unveiling ceremony in the occupied West Bank.

Arafat, founder of the secular Fatah movement in the 1960s, spearheaded the Arab fight against Israel before signing an interim peace deal in 1993. That agreement broke down in botched talks over a final accord, leading to a 2000 Palestinian revolt.“Yasser Arafat has departed, but he left you, President Abbas, with a heavy burden and a difficult legacy,” Mohammed Ishtayeh, a former Palestinian cabinet minister who supervised the construction of the mausoleum, told Abbas in a speech.

The new structure, built of marble and Jerusalem stone adorned with Quranic verses, features a mosque and a minaret as well as an ornamental pool.

The Palestinians also plan to open an Arafat memorial museum in the nearby government headquarters.—Reuters