I liked jwalsh's suggested on what they could have said. Did they have to say anything nice at all? Was Hitler or Stalin eulogized in such a way? Will Hussein or Bin Laden be eulogized? Can't they just leave it?
Like it or not, Arafat was a partner in attempting to bring peace to the area. One doesn't remain silent when a partner dies. Especially when one wants to encourage a new partner to emerge and not just piss off an entire population.
SD