Displaced Gazans find shelter in the late Yasser Arafat’s dilapidated villa

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories - The Gazan residence of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stands in ruins, like most other buildings in the devastated territory, but the remains of the once-lavish villa now also host several displaced families.

AFPTV footage shows the house, converted into a museum after the Palestinian leader’s death in 2004 and bearing murals in his honour, surrounded by rubble.

Located in the Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City, the house was heavily damaged by Israeli strikes during the two years of war that followed

Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel

on Oct 7, 2023.

University professor Ashraf Nafeth Abu Salem, who found shelter in the residence with his own and other families, said he had decided to clean up the rubble inside the house’s courtyard, which was “largely destroyed and burned”.

A metal door that opens from the villa onto the street is adorned with a poster of Arafat, wearing his trademark keffiyeh and sunglasses. Behind him in the image is a smaller picture of the current president of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Mahmoud Abbas.

Prof Abu Salem leafed through an old, yellowed book bearing Arafat’s portrait.

“We belong to the generation of the first intifada (in 1987). We grew up throwing stones,” he said.

“For us, President Abu Ammar was a model and a symbol of the Palestinian national struggle,” the professor said, referring to Arafat by the affectionate name used by supporters.

Three-quarters of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed in the two-year war, producing over 61 million tonnes of debris, according to UN data analysed by AFP. AFP