Abbas promises to move Arafat's shrine to Jerusalem

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to move the shrine of late President Yasser Arafat from its temporary location in Ramallah to the city of Jerusalem as soon as possible.

Speaking at the opening of the Arafat Museum in the Palestinian presidency headquarters in Ramallah on Sunday, Abbas said the late leader deserved to "remain immortal in the hearts of the Palestinian and Arab people".

Nasser al-Qudwa, head of the Yasser Arafat Foundation, was looking forward to welcoming guests to the museum.

We want to preserve memories and our heritage, and promote our culture and values. - Nasser al-Qudwa, Yasser Arafat Foundation

"The opening of the museum is part of a memorial service on the tenth anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death," he said.

"We aim to renovate the shrine and open both the museum and the mosque in his name to represent his memory and mission.

"The museum... will embody Palestine's national memory, and showcase the last hundred years of the Palestinian people's national movement.

"We want to preserve memories and our heritage, and promote our culture and values. They destroy and we build. We shall achieve victory."

Under the planned project, Arafat's office - where he lived under siege by the Israelis for his final two years - will remain preserved, connected to the museum by a bridge next to a shrine and mosque.

In addition, the museum will house an information centre, an audio-visual archive, a theatre hall, a specialised library and a multi-purpose hall.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.