Well wishes
The Israeli army, which is on high alert, has a plan to deal with the fallout from Arafat's death, including possible Palestinian riots.
An Israeli Cabinet official on Friday said Israel would allow Arafat to be buried in the Gaza Strip but again ruled out the possibility of Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he would not permit Arafat to be buried in the city, claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians as their capital. Burial in Jerusalem would be seen as strengthening Palestinian claims to the traditionally Arab sector of the city as a future capital.
Lapid, the justice minister, told Associated Press Television News that: "They (the Palestinians) will choose where to bury him, but he will not be buried in Jerusalem because Jerusalem is the city where Jewish kings are buried and not Arab terrorists."
Sharon has instructed government officials to avoid speaking to reporters on the issue of Arafat, but Lapid, a longtime journalist, is known for speaking bluntly.
Army chiefs say they are opposed to Arafat's burial in Jerusalem or the nearby suburb of Abu Dis in the West Bank. Arafat's family has a plot in the Gaza Strip.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
An Israeli Cabinet official on Friday said Israel would allow Arafat to be buried in the Gaza Strip but again ruled out the possibility of Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said he would not permit Arafat to be buried in the city, claimed by both Israel and the Palestinians as their capital. Burial in Jerusalem would be seen as strengthening Palestinian claims to the traditionally Arab sector of the city as a future capital.
Lapid, the justice minister, told Associated Press Television News that: "They (the Palestinians) will choose where to bury him, but he will not be buried in Jerusalem because Jerusalem is the city where Jewish kings are buried and not Arab terrorists."
Sharon has instructed government officials to avoid speaking to reporters on the issue of Arafat, but Lapid, a longtime journalist, is known for speaking bluntly.
Army chiefs say they are opposed to Arafat's burial in Jerusalem or the nearby suburb of Abu Dis in the West Bank. Arafat's family has a plot in the Gaza Strip.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.