Arab Newspaper Hails Arafat "A Freedom Fighter"

I believe there are many liberals in this country who do not truly appreciate the inherent anti-Israel and anti-Semitic nature of the media in the Middle East.

Take this article commemorating the 5th anniversary of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat's death from The Gulf News, an English language daily based in Dubai. The article states, "Palestinians widely believe he was poisoned and blame Israel for his death." Well, Palestinians also widely believe in Holocaust denial.

Yet I would encourage people to read the article. Some things simply have to be seen to be believed:

Although some believe that there is no way to end Palestinian conflicts, if he were alive, he would have found solutions to varied problems because of his wisdom and power.

Would they be referring to his wisdom in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by walking away from Camp David in 2000? Or would they be referring to the wisdom he displayed in lying to President Bush about Iranian arm shipments to the Palestinian territories in 2002?

Or take the concluding paragraph:

Arafat will be remembered as a freedom fighter who stood for truth and justice. He will also be remembered as a man who spent his life trying to reach his and every Palestinian's dream of an independent state, living on their soil with dignity.

How exactly is it that praising a suicide bomber who killed 21 Israelis in Tel Aviv in 2001 as a "noble soul" epitomize someone who stood for truth and justice?

Yasser Arafat should be remembered as an unrepentant terrorist who said one thing to the Western world and another thing to the Arab/Muslim world.