Arafat's funeral today in Cairo
Egypt has announced it will hold a military funeral for the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Cairo. His body arrived there from Paris on board of a French plane.
Egyptian official government sources said that prayers on the body of Arafat will be in a nearby mosque from al-Jalaa armed forces hospital, near Cairo's airport where the body was taken to immediately after its arrival.
Following the prayers an official funeral will be held to be limited to delegations coming from various parts of the world, while simultaneously a symbolic people's funeral will be held for Arafat in al-Azhar mosque.
Security sources said that Arafat will be taken after the funeral to Almaza military airport in Cairo to be taken then to al-Areesh in Sinai and then by a helicopter to Ramullah where the body will arrive today afternoon.
Official sources said that presidents and heads of states from Arab and Islamic countries and foreign ministers from various parts of the world will take part in the military funeral protocols.
Among world leaders expected to take part in Arafat's funeral are the Egytpain President Hosni Mubarak, the President of south Africa Thabu Mabeiki, Jordanian king Abdullah II, the Lebanese President Emile Lahoud; Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Bin Ali; President of Indonesia, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen and China deputy prime minister.
Also expected to take part in Arafat's funeral are the secretary general of the Arab league Amr Moussa, the two prime ministers of Pakistan, Sweden, and the foreign ministers of many countries including France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Bulgaria, Iram, Denmark and Turkey.
The US which had refused to deal with Arafat for two and a half years is expected to dispatch its under secretary of state for Middle East affairs William Burns. The Israeli minister of justice Tommy Labid said his government will send a delegation to take part in the funeral ceremony.
Earlier in the day on Thursday a funeral ceremony was held for the Palestinian president in Villa Couller airport where he was taken by a French military helicopter from Percy hospital where he was laying.
Arafat's body which was wrapped by the Palestinian flag was carried by a group of republican guards in the French army who only carry the bodies of heads of the states of the French republic or great leaders.