RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov. 11 - On the first anniversary of Yasir Arafat's death, a small and subdued crowd of Palestinians paid tribute on Friday at his grave site, where he was buried after a tumultuous funeral.

Mr. Arafat was the dominant Palestinian figure for nearly four decades, and his legacy lives on. His photo still hangs in government offices and shops, and many Palestinians describe him as a father figure.

Yet public tributes and references to Mr. Arafat tend to be relatively infrequent and low-key. When his name is mentioned, educated Palestinians in particular say any assessment needs to include both his successes and his shortcomings. "He did a lot of things for the Palestinians that no one else could have done," said Mamdouh Nofal, a former guerrilla commander who recently wrote a book about Mr. Arafat. "At the same time, I saw him as an obstacle to internal changes and reforms the Palestinians needed to make."

Mr. Nofal was among about 2,000 Palestinians at the afternoon service at the Muqata, the compound that serves as the Palestinian political headquarters in the West Bank.

Israel confined Mr. Arafat to the compound for most of the last three years of his life, though he was treated at a French military hospital for two weeks before his death on Nov. 11, 2004. His funeral the next day at the Muqata was a chaotic affair attended by tens of thousands of anguished mourners.

The current Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, who also attended the service on Friday, said he remained committed to Mr. Arafat's goal of a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem. "I renew the pledge to continue on the path that he started and exert whatever efforts are needed to raise the flag of Palestine on the walls, the minarets and the churches of Jerusalem," said Mr. Abbas, who laid the cornerstone for a memorial to be built around Mr. Arafat's tomb. The tomb is enclosed by glass, and was surrounded by floral wreaths on Friday. Yet Mr. Abbas said Mr. Arafat had not sought an elaborate shrine.

"He did not dream of having a palace in Palestine," Mr. Abbas said. "He dreamed of having a grave in Jerusalem. God willing, he will be buried in Jerusalem." Israel, which claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, opposed Mr. Arafat's burial in the city, just south of Ramallah.

Mr. Abbas, who won a vote in January to succeed Mr. Arafat, lacks his charisma. His speech on Friday was dry and sober, and received only polite applause. Palestinians complain that he rarely has contact with them. "Yasir Arafat must have had his picture taken with every Palestinian," said Ziad Abu Ein, an official in the Fatah movement. "And he kissed everyone, from the old women to the young children. We don't see this now."

But Jibril Rajoub, a top security commander under Mr. Arafat and a security adviser to Mr. Abbas, said, "It's unfair to compare any other Palestinian to Yasir Arafat."

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company