A delegation of five Gush Shalom activists took part Wednesday (13.08) in the funeral of the Palestinian national poet, Mahmoud Darwish, in Ramallah.

Altogether, some 20 Israelis attended the funeral. Participation was organized by the Alternative Information Center in Jerusalem.

"Mahmoud Darwish is the poet of anger, longing, hope and peace'" Uri Avnery, who knew Darwish well, told journalists from all over the world. "He expressed the deepest feelings of the Palestinian people. We must understand these feelings if we want to make peace."

The mass of people at the funeral represented all classes of Palestinian society. They received the delegation with marked friendliness, many shook hands with the activists and thanked them for attending.