THE Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, marked one week since Israel's handover of most of the West Bank town of Hebron to PLO rule by dedicating a monument to the city's "liberation".
"This monument symbolises the liberation of the city of Hebron by brother Abu Ammar [Arafat]," the Mayor of Hebron, Mr Mustafa Natsheh, said after Mr Arafat pressed a button to light an eternal flame on the statue of a hand holding a torch.
"It symbolises the Palestinian resistance through the years of occupation and the achievement of the Palestinian dream in liberating the city," Mr Natsheh said.
Israeli troops withdrew from 80 per cent of Hebron on January 17th after months of acrimonious talks between the sides.
Israel remains in control of the heart of Hebron where 400 Jewish settlement, live in small enclaves. Some 20,000 of Hebron's 100,000 Palestinians also live in the part of town still controlled by Israeli troops.
Hebron - site of the Tomb of the Patriarchs which is revered by Jews and Muslims as the traditional burial place of Abraham - has long been a flashpoint of Arab Jewish violence.
According to the Muslim calendar, yesterday marked three years since a Jewish settler, Baruch Goldstein, massacred 29 Palestinians praying at the tomb, known to Muslims as the al Ibrahimi Mosque.
Mr Arafat, on his second visit to the city since its handover, chaired a meeting of the Palestinian Authority cabinet in Hebron later in the day.
Tourist ministers from Israel, Jordan and the newly established Palestinian Authority have placed a joint advertisement in US newspapers Friday urging Americans to visit the region.
The slogan reads: "Peace: It's a beautiful sight to see."
The practically full page spread was published in the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. The word "Peace" appeared in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
"Children are playing in the parks of Jerusalem. There's a new spirit in the streets of Bethlehem. You can see `Welcome to Jordan' wreathed in the smiles of every shop keeper in Amman," the advertisement reads. "Today Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians open their arms, and their hearts, to extend a warm invitation to the American people."