GAZA -- Gaza was clad in black Thursday as dark banners were hoisted on and people marched in the streets to express their grief over Yasser Arafat's death.
Verses of the Koran began blaring from the loudspeakers of mosques' in the early morning hours on the official announcement of Arafat's death in a Paris hospital where he was admitted 13 days ago after collapsing at his West Bank headquarters.
Black smoke billowed over Gaza as mourners burned tires at street junctions and gunmen fired shots in the air.
But despite the sadness that gripped the population and fears of an unclear future, many were confident the Palestinian people would overcome the crisis and rally behind their national cause.
"The death of President Arafat left a great impact and vacuum in the heart and mind of the Palestinians ... He was the leader and the symbol who spent his life struggling for the sake of the Palestinian cause," said Osama Taleb, a university student.
Most Palestinians ruled out the possibility of internal fighting or struggle for power among the various Palestinian factions.
