Palestinians open Arafat's bedroom to public
RAMALLAH -- Palestinians will soon get a chance to glimpse the small bedroom where their longtime leader Yasser Arafat spent his final years.
The 5-square meter room is the centerpiece of the new Arafat Museum, which opens to the public on Thursday to coincide with the 12th anniversary of Arafat's death.
The room has only a single bed and small closet that barely holds four suits, a few checkered headscarves and shirts. There is also a nightstand and lamp, a prayer carpet and a painting by his then-young daughter Zahwa.
Israel confined Arafat to his Ramallah headquarters in December 2001, accusing him of masterminding a violent uprising. He was allowed to leave for a French hospital in October 2004 and died there two weeks later.
