Casket carrying Palestinian poet Darwish flown to West Bank
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Jordanian helicopter carrying the casket of Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish has landed at the Palestinian government headquarters.
Darwish is to be buried later Wednesday next to Ramallah's Cultural Palace. The poet died last week in Houston following heart surgery.
The Jordanian helicopter landed in the courtyard of the government compound of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Darwish's casket was draped in a Palestinian flag and covered with flowers. It was carried toward a crowd of waiting dignitaries, including Abbas, Cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats.
Darwish's poetry has been translated into more than 20 languages and he won numerous international awards.