Middle East: It takes Gaza artist Baha Al-Qidra less than a day to slap up a house-sized mural of Yasser Arafat, but there is no way he can keep up with demand.
A widespread feeling that the critically-ill Palestinian leader will soon die has triggered a surge of devotion for a leader who symbolised the struggle for statehood over four decades, even if his rule had been increasingly challenged.
Emotion is especially strong in the Gaza Strip, home of the ex-guerrilla's father, site of his return from exile and where many Palestinians expect him to be buried.
"I have already painted nine large murals of President Arafat in one week. I have another 23 requests," Qidra said.
Colourful paintings that honour the dead in a four-year-old uprising brighten the shabby cinderblock streets of Gaza, the staring eyes of "martyrs" a constant reminder of a conflict that has battered Gaza.
Many of the paintings are of the leaders and militants from Islamic groups - Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi are favourites since they were killed in Israeli missile strikes early this year.
But more portraits of Arafat have sprung up since he was sent to a Paris hospital on October 29th. Demand soared after he was reported to have slipped into a coma last week.
"We always loved Arafat. We never cared what others were saying about him," said Mr Youssef Sahmoud, who went with a friend to Qidra's workshop to order a picture. "We want to show him that we love him."
Arafat last set foot in Gaza in 2001. Israel accused him of fomenting violence, which he denied, and penned him into his shell-battered headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah for more than 2½ years.
Gaza now looks the most likely site for Arafat's grave given that Israel rules out the holy Old City of Jerusalem, which it annexed to its capital after the 1967 Middle East war.
In Gaza, as elsewhere, there is concern about who might follow the 75-year-old Arafat.
Even if fears of chaos are not realised, few expect any leader to have the same stature or popularity.
"God forbid that Arafat die. After him, I cannot see who would merit being portrayed in the same way," said 23-year-old Qidra. "If he returns alive I will draw his image on every wall in Gaza." - (Reuters)