Palestinians mark 18th anniversary of late leader Arafat's death

Palestinians commemorated the 18th anniversary of the death of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

In the coastal enclave of Gaza Strip, tens of thousands of local residents participated in a rally for the first time in five years after a ban was lifted by the ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Many participants raised flags of Palestine and the Fatah party, while carrying huge portraits of Arafat and chanting slogans saluting him as the "spark of the Palestinian revolution."

As the Fatah's founder, former chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and president of the Palestinian National Authority, Arafat has been revered by many Palestinians as the embodiment of their national aspirations.

In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians marched through the city Ramallah at noon toward the mausoleum of Arafat, carrying his portraits and chanting slogans of "You will be in hearts, minds and future."

On Nov. 11, 2004, Arafat died at the age of 75 at a military hospital near Paris, France due to an unknown illness.

Arafat's remains were exhumed in November 2012 to take samples for investigations, during which polonium substances were found after tests by French, Swiss and Russian scientists.

Arafat's wife resorted to the French judiciary to look into her husband's death. In September 2015, French judges investigating the claims closed the case without bringing any charges.