Thousands mourn Palestinian poet Darwish

West Bank: Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered for the equivalent of a state funeral on Wednesday for Mahmud Darwish, the towering Arabic poet who gave voice to their bitter decades-old struggle.

Darwish, considered the national poet of the Palestinians and the author of their 1988 declaration of independence, won a number of international prizes and is widely considered one of the Arab world's greatest writers.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas presided over a midday ceremony attended by senior officials, Arab Israeli parliamentarians and dozens of foreign dignitaries at the Muqataa, his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

"The story of our people is your story Mahmud, and by our meeting it was made more complete and more beautiful," Abbas said in a eulogy. "You remain with us, Mahmud, because you represent everything that unites us."Ramallah, West Bank, Monday, AFP