President Thabo Mbeki will attend the funeral of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat who died early yesterday, after spending two weeks receiving medical attention at a military hospital in Paris, France.

The funeral service will be held in Cairo, Egypt, today, but Arafat will be buried in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Arafat, who died at the age of 75, has been head of the Palestinian People's Organisation (PLO) for 40 years.

Mbeki yesterday joined hundreds of world leaders in conveying his condolences to Arafat's family and the Palestinian people, saying he found it difficult to accept that Arafat had ceased to lead.

"History will record that President Arafat epitomised that rare breed of leaders whose lives were defined by the unflinching sacrifices they made in the noble and just cause of the struggle of their people.

"It will record that despite the hardship, suffering and pain imposed by trying circumstances that defined their lives, they continued to draw inspiration from the knowledge that the struggle for freedom offers the only hope out of the darkest times,” Mbeki said.

He added that Arafat had given hope to millions of the "downtrodden and despised", by instilling in them the knowledge and consciousness that despite current difficulties, they held the gift of freedom in their hands.

Mbeki also said that Arafat had bestowed upon millions of Palestinians a legacy that would continue to inspire his people to forge ahead with the struggle to establish a sovereign independent Palestinian state co-existing peacefully with Israel.

He indicated he would continue to lend a hand in working with the people and leadership of the region as well as the international community in the development of a comprehensive, just and lasting solution in the Middle-East.

"Indeed, President Arafat dedicated his entire life and strength to the finest cause in all the world -the fight for the liberation of all people.

"As we join the international community, in mourning such a great a leader, we feel greatly honoured to have been part of his life as much as he too was part of ours, in the commitment to bring about a better life for all the world's people," he said. - BuaNews.