Arafat, Yasser (1929–2004)

Yasser Arafat, a controversial and polarizing leader for the Palestinians, became a key figure in the decades-long struggle between Israel and Palestine. Renowned for his red and white keffiyah headdress, Palestinians hailed Arafat as a martyr while Israelis ostracized him as an instigator and terrorist. Arafat began his political activism in the late 1940s during the Arab-Israeli War by smuggling in arms to Palestine and founding the militia group Al-Fatah. Arafat gained international status when he became chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). A milestone in Arafat's legacy was his declaration that the PLO would renounce violence and officially recognize Israel's statehood, paving the way for the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords, for which Arafat shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat As Qudwa al-Hussaeini was born on August 24, 1929, in Cairo, although it is believed that his birthplace may well be Jerusalem or Gaza. Yasser, his childhood name, lost his mother when he was 5 years old and moved in with his maternal uncle in Jerusalem, the capital of the British Mandate of Palestine. Four years later, Arafat's father had him return to Cairo. During the Arab-Israel War in 1947, Arafat returned to Jerusalem to fight in the Gaza area. In defeat, he returned to Cairo and studied engineering at the University of Cairo.

After graduating in 1956, Arafat briefly worked in Egypt and then moved to Kuwait and successfully ran his own contracting firm. He donated most of his profits to his political activities and his recently created Al-Fatah organization. In 1964, Arafat left Kuwait to [Page 187]become a revolutionist. That same year, the PLO was created by the Arab League.

Arafat became chairman of the PLO in 1969 and formed a military headquartered in Jordan, which then moved to Lebanon, and eventually reestablished in Tunisia. In 1988 Arafat changed policies; while addressing the United Nations, he announced that the PLO condemned terrorism, supported an independent Palestine, and acknowledged Israel as a state. With new prospects for peace, Arafat, Israeli prime minister Rabin, and Israeli foreign minister Peres negotiated the Oslo Peace Accords of 1993.

The 1996 Palestine elections made Arafat president of the Palestine Authority, governing the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In September 2000, the Second Intifada began. By 2003, Israeli prime minister Sharon had banned Arafat from peace talks to end the intifada and trapped him at home through constant bombing raids. A frail Arafat left his home to seek medical attention in Paris. Although Arafat's dream of an independent Palestinian state never materialized, the people for whom he had fought for more than 60 years remained faithful until his death on November 11, 2004, in Paris. A bachelor until 1990, Arafat is survived by his wife Suha and daughter Zahwa, named after his mother.