Palestine, November 11, (Pal Telegraph) - Palestinians are marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat. Hundreds of people gathered in the main square of the West Bank city of Ramallah to remember the late Palestinian leader.

ImageTributes have also been paid at his gravestone, inside the Palestinian presidential compound. The Hamas group, which runs the Gaza Strip, banned similar commemorations there.

The anniversary of Arafat's death comes as his successor Mahmoud Abbas says he does not want to run for another term.

Abbas, who lost control of Gaza after a battle with Hamas in 2007, has called a presidential ballot for January.

Analysts and diplomats are voicing doubt that a vote will happen, though. They also suggest that Abbas's announcement that he won't seek reelection could just be a tactic, to bolster US support for his position over peace talks with Israel.

Despite the ban on Arafat commemoration rallies in Gaza, Fatah supporters in the coastal strip did hold remembrance ceremonies indoors.

Euronews

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Al Jazeera reports:

Thousands of Palestinians are marking five years since the death of Yasser Arafat, their iconic leader who pushed the struggle for an independent homeland onto the world stage.

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, was due to address a rally in the West Bank on Wednesday where Palestians remain divided, pondering Abbas's refusal to stand in forthcoming elections.

Abbas said last week he would not seek re-election because of stalled peace efforts that have failed to bring about an independent Palestinian state.

A crowd waving Palestinian flags and banners of Abbas's political party, Fatah, gathered in the West Bank's political capital of Ramallah to honour Arafat, who led Palestinians for nearly four decades, embracing armed struggle at first and then switching to peace negotiations.

Abbas was to address the crowd amid grim predictions by his aides that he may resign as president.

That would perhaps lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, which was established by Arafat during the Oslo peace process in the 1990s.

'Moment of truth'

Saeb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, told the AFP news agency: "The moment of truth has come and we have to be frank with the Palestinian people that we have not been able to reach a two-state solution through 18 years of negotiation."

Referring to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the Six Day War, he said: "We have become convinced that Israel doesn't want a Palestinian state on lands it occupied in 1967."

If Abbas were to resign, that would throw the divided Palestinians into new legal and political limbo, analysts say.

According to Palestinian Basic Law, Abbas's resignation has to be approved by two-thirds of the Palestinian parliament in order to become effective.

But the chamber has not convened since 2006 and it is unclear whether it would do so if he quits.

If the resignation is approved, Aziz Dweik, the speaker of parliament of Fatah rival, Hamas, would assume the presidency until new elections are held within 60 days.

Abbas called for elections to be held in January but Hamas, which has urged Palestinians to reject his leadership, called on voters to stage a boycott.