I miss Uncle Yasser more than ever, he could have saved us all

YASSER Arafat could have prevented the bloodshed in Gaza, his nephew has said 20 years on from his death today.

- ANDY LINES ,PAUL MARTIN

In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, Nasser al-Kidwa said the Palestinian people desperately miss their charismatic leader.

He also claimed the brutal war between Israel and Gaza could have been avoided, adding Arafat would never have let Hamas take such a violent grip on Palestine.

Following a visit to London to take part in peace talks, Al-Kidwa said Palestinians needed a man of Arafat's political stature now.

He added: "If my beloved Uncle Yasser had stayed alive for years longer, he could have prevented all this awful fighting and bloodshed.

"I miss him more than ever.

"And I also am increasingly sure he could have saved us all.

"He could have stopped the violent Palestinians' split between Hamas and his own Fatah group.

"That could have stopped Hamas gaining power, building its war capacities at the expense of our people, and, eventually, choosing to attack Israel on October 7th with a disastrous result."