Yasser Arafat | |
|---|---|
ياسر عرفات | |
 Arafat in 1996 | |
| 1st President of the Palestinian National Authority | |
| In office 5 July 1994 – 11 November 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Succeeded by | Rawhi Fattouh (interim) Mahmoud Abbas |
| 1st President of the State of Palestine | |
| In office 2 April 1989 – 11 November 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | Mahmoud Abbas Ahmed Qurei |
| Succeeded by | Rawhi Fattouh (interim) Mahmoud Abbas |
| 3rd Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization | |
| In office 4 February 1969 – 29 October 2004 | |
| Preceded by | Yahya Hammuda |
| Succeeded by | Mahmoud Abbas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini 4 or 24 August 1929 Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt |
| Died | 11 November 2004 (aged 75) Clamart, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Resting place | Arafat's compound |
| Political party | Fatah |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of King Fuad I |
| Profession | Civil engineer |
| Signature |  |
| Nickname | Abu Ammar[1] |
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Personal
Pre-presidency Elections .svg){kind=small} |
||
Yasser Arafat[a] (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his kunya Abu Ammar,[b] was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, President of the State of Palestine from 1989 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian Authority (PNA) from 1994 to 2004.[3] Ideologically an Arab nationalist and a socialist, Arafat was a founding member of the Fatah political party, which he led from 1959 until 2004.
Arafat was born to Palestinian parents in Cairo, Egypt, where he spent most of his youth. He studied at the University of King Fuad I. While a student, he embraced Arab nationalist and anti-Zionist ideas. Opposed to the 1948 creation of the State of Israel, he fought alongside the Muslim Brotherhood during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Following the defeat of Arab forces, Arafat returned to Cairo and served as president of the General Union of Palestinian Students from 1952 to 1956.
In the latter part of the 1950s, Arafat co-founded Fatah, a paramilitary organization which sought Israel's replacement with a Palestinian state. Fatah operated within several Arab countries, from where it launched attacks on Israeli targets. In the latter part of the 1960s Arafat's profile grew; in 1967 he joined the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and in 1969 was elected chair of the Palestinian National Council (PNC). Fatah's growing presence in Jordan resulted in military clashes with King Hussein's Jordanian government and in the early 1970s it relocated to Lebanon. There, Fatah assisted the Lebanese National Movement during the Lebanese Civil War and continued its attacks on Israel, resulting in the organization becoming a major target of Israeli invasions during the 1978 South Lebanon conflict and 1982 Lebanon War.
From 1983 to 1993, Arafat based himself in Tunisia, and began to shift his approach from open conflict with the Israelis to negotiation. In 1988, he acknowledged Israel's right to exist and sought a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In 1994, he returned to Palestine, settling in Gaza City and promoting self-governance for the Palestinian territories. He engaged in a series of negotiations with the Israeli government to end the conflict between it and the PLO. These included the Madrid Conference of 1991, the 1993 Oslo Accords and the 2000 Camp David Summit. The success of the negotiations in Oslo led to Arafat being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, alongside Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, in 1994. At the time, Fatah's support among the Palestinians declined with the growth of Hamas and other militant rivals. In late 2004, after effectively being confined within his Ramallah compound for over two years by the Israeli army, Arafat fell into a coma and died. While the cause of Arafat's death has remained the subject of speculation, investigations by Russian and French teams determined no foul play was involved.[4][5][6]
Arafat remains a controversial figure. Palestinians generally view him as a martyr who symbolized the national aspirations of his people, while many Israelis regarded him as a terrorist.[7][8][9][10] Palestinian rivals, including Islamists and several PLO radicals, frequently denounced him as corrupt or too submissive in his concessions to the Israeli government.
- ^ Helena Cobban (before Yasser Arafat's marriage): "Yasser Arafat is not married, but is called 'Abu 'Ammar' as an inversion of the name of the heroic early Muslim warrior 'Ammar bin ('son of) Yasser. The idea, presumably, that if Yasser Arafat had a son, he would or should be as heroic as the earlier Ammar [ibn Yasir]", Cobban 1984, p. 272
- ^ "Definition of Arafat". dictionary.com. Random House. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ Some sources use the term Chairman, rather than President; the Arabic word for both titles is the same. See President of the Palestinian National Authority for further information.
- ^ "Yasser Arafat: French rule out foul play in former Palestinian leader's death". The Guardian. 16 March 2015.
- ^ "France drops investigation into Arafat's death". The Jerusalem Post. Reuters. 2 September 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Yasser Arafat investigation: Russian probe finds death not caused by radiation". CBS News. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ Creed, Richard D. Jr. (2014). Eighteen Years in Lebanon and Two Intifadas: The Israeli Defense Force and the U.S. Army Operational Environment. Pickle Partners Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-78289-593-0.
- ^ Ghanem, As'ad (2010). Palestinian Politics after Arafat: A Failed National Movement. Indiana University Press. p. 259.
- ^ Kershner, Isabel (4 July 2012). "Palestinians May Exhume Arafat After Report of Poisoning". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
- ^ Hockstader, Lee (11 November 2004). "A Dreamer Who Forced His Cause Onto World Stage". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).