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Mukataa () is an Arabic word for headquarters or administrative center, particularly in Palestine. mukataa. webster-dictionary.org. Retrieved 15 October 2013. Mukataas were mostly built during the British Mandate as and were used both as British government centers and as dwellings for the British administrative staff. Some Mukataas also included and . After the British left, the buildings often functioned similarly under the Jordanians, and then the Israelis.
After the Oslo Accords, the Mukataas were used as governmental offices and headquarters for the Palestinian National Authority. The Mukaatas in Ramallah and Gaza City, the two major Palestinian cities, were also used as headquarters to the high Palestinian Authority leadership, including as office for Yasser Arafat, long-time Palestinian Authority president., 2007]]
During Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002, the Israeli Defence Forces raided the Mukataas in the West Bank. Some Mukataas, including the Mukataa in Hebron, were entirely demolished.
The siege was lifted on 2 May after six men wanted by Israel – four of them convicted of involvement in the October 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi – were moved to a prison in Jericho to be guarded by U.S. and British wardens. The US-brokered plan was to enable Israel to avoid angering the United States over the Israeli Cabinet decision to bar a UN fact-finding mission from investigating allegations surrounding Israeli army actions in Jenin refugee camp during Operation Rampart. "Arafat Siege Could End Soon". CBS, 29 April 2002. "Arafat siege to end as handover agreed". The Daily Telegraph, 1 May 2002.Documents, working papers. 2002, vol. 4: Documents 9396–9428: working papers, 2002 ordinary session (second part), 22–26 April 2002, Vol. 4: Documents 9396–9428, p. 207. Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly Published by Council of Europe, 2002 . Although the military had withdrawn from the compound, the cities and refugee camps in the West Bank remained surrounded by Israeli troops. "Arafat asks Tenet to pressure Israel, aide says". CNN, 4 June 2002.
While Arafat was building a new Cabinet, the Israeli army five days later strengthened the siege on his headquarters with the support of US President George W. Bush. The White House rejected Egypt's call for a quick timetable for Palestinian statehood and Bush hinted that an international conference was a long way off, "because no one has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government."
The siege re-ignited Palestinian support for Yasser Arafat. "Siege continues at Arafat's HQ". Mark Willacy, ABC, 23 September 2002. On 24 September 2002, the UN Security Council demanded an end of the siege, but Israel ignored the Resolution. Resolution 1435 (2002). Adopted by the Security Council at its 4614th meeting, on 24 September 2002. S/RES/1435 (2002).Jonathan Steele, "Israel defies UN vote demanding end to Arafat siege". The Guardian, 25 September 2002.
UN Under-Secretary-General Terje Rød-Larsen, one of the architects of the Oslo Accords, said on 27 September that "the Israeli army's siege of Yasser Arafat amid the ruins of his bulldozed presidential compound could mean 'the death' of hopes for a Palestinian state and a peace agreement." He alluded to the possible death of the two-state solution and said that "we're moving in the direction of state destruction and not state-building".. Justin Huggler, The Independent, 28 September 2002.
On 11 September 2003, the Israeli security Cabinet decided to "remove" Arafat, who still remained in the besieged compound. In a statement it said: "Recent days' events have proven again that Yasser Arafat is a complete obstacle to any process of reconciliation... Israel will act to remove this obstacle in the manner, at the time, and in the ways that will be decided on separately...." "Excerpts: Israeli security cabinet statement". BBC, 11 September 2003. "Israeli Cabinet Decides in Principle for Arafat Expulsion". Fox News, 12 September 2003. The compound remained under siege until Arafat's transfer in October 2004, for medical care in a French hospital.
Following Arafat's death on 11 November 2004, the Palestinian leadership decided that he was to be "temporarily" interred in the Mukataa compound, pending the establishment of a Palestinian state and the transfer of his body to the Dome of the Rock compound on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Plans for Arafat to lie in state at the Mukataa prior to burial were canceled, because thousands of emotional mourners overwhelmed Palestinian security forces. Arafat was buried within the compound on 12 November, in a temporary manner. On 11 November 2007, a larger tomb clad in Jerusalem stone, and designed by Palestinian architects opened to the public. The message on the tomb indicated that the final resting place of Arafat shall be in Jerusalem, if it comes under Palestinian control.
Siege of September 2002
After a suicide bombing struck Tel Aviv on 19 September 2002, the Mukataa was again placed under siege. During the next ten days, the IDF destroyed all of the buildings that had survived the former sieges with bulldozers and explosives, including the main interior ministry building. Only part of the building where Arafat and his people remained was left. "Yasser Arafat amid the ruins". The Economist, 26 September 2002.
Temporary burial-place of Arafat
In the early days of November, when it was clear his death was near, several locations were mentioned as possible burial sites. Jerusalem was the first choice, but Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would not allow this.
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