Muqataa

The official residence of the Palestinian President

Arafat's official residence largely destroyed in March 2003

The tomb of Yasser Arafat. The mausoleum was built behind this billboard

The mausoleum in January 2008

The Muqataa or Muqata ( Arabic مقاطعة Muqāṭaʿa  'district', also 'headquarters') in Al-Bireh exactly on the border with Ramallah ( West Bank ) is the seat of the President of the Palestinian Authority and is a military area.

location

The extensive site is on the east side of the northern main road that leads to Bir Zeit . Since the municipal boundary between Ramallah and Al-Bireh runs exactly on the western and southern property line, the entire complex is located in the municipality of Al-Bireh.

history

Before 1948, this complex also served as the British headquarters . They built barracks , a prison and other accommodations for officers during the mandate rule in the 1920s . After 1948 the Jordanians took over and expanded the area with additional buildings, from 1967 the Israelis. The offices of the Israeli military administration were located there.

After the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993 , the Israelis moved their offices to nearby Bet El and handed the complex over to the Palestinian Authority. From 1996 to November 2004 it was the headquarters and official residence of the 1st Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (1929-2004). In September 2002, part of the approximately 1 km² building complex was destroyed during an Israeli military offensive. Arafat was effectively under house arrest in his official residence for three years . After his death in Paris , his body was transferred via Egypt by helicopter to the Muqataa, where a state funeral was planned directly on the area. Due to the large crowd, there were chaotic scenes and the funeral was carried out quickly and informally. A mosque was built as a tomb over the grave until 2007.

The complex was rebuilt under President Mahmoud Abbas . The passport office was also located on the site until 2007 and has since been rebuilt next to the Interior Ministry in Al-Bireh. Today, next to the official residence of the president, there are only representative buildings, the tomb for Arafat and a barracks for the presidential guard . There is also a helipad.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ GIS Ramallah  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.