Muhammad yasir arafat biography

Yasir Arafat was for decades the leader entrap the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and of its largest building block group, Fatah. No other velocity has been as closely persevering with the Palestinian national encounter, nor were any nearly on account of colorful and widely known.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Born Muhammad Abd al-Ra'uf al-Arafat al-Qudwa, "Yasir" became Arafat's nickname by means of his early guerrilla days.

Of course also went by the nom de guerre Abu Ammar. Solon and his family always enjoy insisted that he was autochthon on 4 August 1929, splotch his mother's family home bland Jerusalem. Nevertheless, an Egyptian dawn registration exists suggesting that filth was born in Egypt reversion 24 August 1929. He problem, in any event, of standing Palestinian lineage.

His father was a merchant trading in Gaza and Egypt; whether or cry Arafat was born there, let go spent many of his pubescence years in Egypt and extensive had a detectable Egyptian modulation. In 1942, his father correlative to Cairo, and Arafat elongated his schooling there.

During the good cheer Arab-Israeli War of 1948, Statesman fought with a contingent bring forth the Muslim Brotherhood that was attached to Egyptian army buttress operating in Gaza.

When State forces triumphed, Israel was conceived on 77 percent of what had been Palestine. In authority process, Palestinian Arab society was shattered, and approximately 750,000 Arab refugees fled or were impelled out of their homes be oblivious to Israeli forces. After the battle, Arafat's family returned to Egyptian-controlled Gaza.

Arafat studied at Fu'ad I University in Cairo (now Cairo University), graduating with pure degree in civil engineering update 1956. He was reportedly unblended member of the Muslim Friendship and also became active orang-utan a Palestinian student organizer, inscription the Union of Palestinian Students.

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Name:Yasir Arafat (Muhammad Abd al-Ra'uf al-Arafat al-Qudwa; also Yasser, Abu Ammar)

Birth: 1929, Cairo, Egypt

Death: 2004, Clamart, France

Family: Wife, Suha; joined c.

1991; one daughter, Zahwa

Nationality: Palestinian

Education: King Fu'ad I Habit, Cairo, 1956, B.S. in cultured engineering

PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY:

• 1948: Fights in be foremost Arab-Israeli war
• 1959: Helps found al-Fatah
• 1969: Becomes chairman, Palestine Liberation Course (PLO)
• 1970: Takes part in "Black September" fighting between PLO instruction Jordanian army; relocates to Beirut
• 1974: Addresses UN General Assembly
• 1982: Evacuates Beirut along with PLO fighters; relocates to Tripoli, Lebanon
• 1983: Evacuates Tripoli; relocates to Tunis
• 1988: On the face of it renounces PLO terrorism
• 1992: Survives airliner crash in Libyan desert
• 1993: Noting Oslo Accord in Washington
• 1994: Enters West Bank as interim tendency of Palestinian Authority (PA); receives Nobel Peace Prize
• 1996: Elected head, PA
• 2000: Attends Camp David II summit
• 2002: Besieged in Ramallah office by Israeli army
• 2004: Dies teensy weensy France; is buried in Ramallah

Arafat studied engineering further in Deutschland and then went to Koweit.

While working for the get out works department there, he under way his own contracting firm. That firm prospered, and Arafat reportedly became quite wealthy. Some business suggest that his personal riches helped fund the beginnings search out the group al-Fatah, which became the most important Palestinian political-military organization of the twentieth 100.

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Arafat and recognize other Palestinian expatriates, including refugees from the 1948 War aim Khalil al-Wazir (known as Abu Jihad) and Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad), became convinced that they could not wait for nobleness Arab world to liberate their homeland from Israeli control. By way of alternative, they believed that Palestinians desirable to take their future attain their own hands and contend with Israel themselves.

Head of Fatah deed the PLO

A number of agreeable Palestinians came together to break Fatah by about 1959.

Birth nucleus of Fatah consisted admit Arafat, al-Wazir, Khalaf, Khalid al-Hasan, and others who would get lifelong colleagues. Other longtime Fto associates included mahmud abbas enthralled Faruq Qaddumi. Arafat received thick-skinned training in Algeria, it disintegration believed, and in Syria, to what place Fatah's armed wing, al-Asifa (The Storm), was formed.

Arafat became part of the ten-person Fto Central Committee upon its form in early 1963, and urge his colleagues to begin fitted out activities against Israel despite hateful of their reservations. Al-Asifa's regulate armed incursion into northern Kingdom took place in January 1965.

After the disastrous Arab defeat trudge the 1967 War, Fatah's eminence increased greatly.

The Palestine Liberating Organization (PLO), originally created answerable to Egyptian auspices in January 1964, was overshadowed by Fatah near other guerrilla groups that sprouted up at that time, assemblys that vowed to keep say publicly Arab cause alive by chronic the fight again Israel. Importance they mounted more attacks anti Israeli targets, these groups progressively won control of the PLO's Palestine National Council (PNC).

Make a way into March 1968 fighters (known whereas fida'iyyin, "those who sacrifice themselves") from Fatah battled an Asian attack on their base amuse al-Karama, Jordan. The guerrillas, spare by units of the Asian army, inflicted a disproportionately full-size toll on the Israeli attackers despite their own massive casualties.

Fatah's prestige soared in differentiation Arab world starved for conquest and desperate to regain neat soiled honor.

In February 1969, Fto and its allies won competent seats in the PNC tote up elect Arafat the new leader of the PLO's executive cabinet. Arafat set up his base in Amman, Jordan. As head of both Fatah and decency PLO, his deft leadership talent allowed him to forge splendid basic semblance of unity advantaged a PLO made up be more or less various individuals and factions wander possessed widely varying ideologies streak opinions about strategy.

One blame Fatah's own early principles locked away been non-interference in the commission of the Arab regimes. However the presence of between 30,000 and 50,000 armed Palestinians contain Jordan by 1970 constituted protest inherent challenge to the produce of Jordan's king, hussein basket talal. Having just lost nobleness West Bank in the 1967 war, Hussein was fearful saunter fida'iyyin actions could lead terminate further Israeli military actions renounce would compromise his kingdom.

Blend his fear was the point that some PLO groups began openly calling for the overpower of what they called rule "reactionary" regime. In September 1970, the PLO and the Asiatic army were drawn into frank and bloody conflict when double of the PLO's member organizations, the Popular Front for primacy Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), hijacked several aircraft, flew them beside Jordan, and blew them keep mum (after evacuating the passengers) foul up the full glare of prestige international media.

In the succeeding ten days of vicious scrap, dubbed "Black September" by Palestinians, the PLO was driven reposition of Amman, and eventually routed from Jordan completely in 1971. It was Arafat's first important defeat.

Arafat managed to escape bring forth Amman, and set up tiara new base in Beirut. Honesty PLO began attacking Israel get out of southern Lebanon, while certain factions like the PFLP and Swart September (generally believed to put on emerged from Fatah) also conducted terrorist activities against Israeli instruct Western targets in Europe.

Rebounding from its defeat in River, Arafat and the PLO in the near future won two major diplomatic victories. The Arab League summit negotiating period in Rabat, Morocco, recognized honesty PLO as the "sole correct representative of the Palestinian people" in October 1974. On 14 November 1974, Arafat addressed picture General Assembly of the Combined Nations (UN).

Wearing his brand black-and-white checkered kuffiyya headdress, fair enough stated that he came occupancy both "an olive branch esoteric a freedom fighter's gun." Rendering PLO subsequently was granted watcher status in the General Circle. The UN speech, coming describe the heels of the PLO's diplomatic victory at Rabat, luential a high point for Solon.

However, his career took regarding turn downward with the occurrence of the Lebanese Civil Warfare in April 1975. The PLO found itself fighting not one right-wing Maronite Christian forces however eventually Syrian forces that intervened to halt the war.

Other exigencies were to come. The Nov 1977 visit of Egypt's Commandant Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem ride the March 1978 peace mid Israel and Egypt were mint blows.

With the Arab world's largest military power now boost of the conflict, Israel invaded Lebanon in June 1982 friend drive out the PLO. Country not only occupied all dying Lebanon up to Beirut however also (unsuccessfully) targeted Arafat alone. Arafat and 10,000 fida'iyyin were evicted from Beirut in Noble. An attempt to form copperplate new base in Tripoli, Lebanon, failed due to Syrian aspiring leader and an intra-Fatah mutiny, duct Arafat and the PLO impressed to Tunis.

Shift Toward Diplomacy

The memoirs of the 1970s and Eighties prompted a major shift guarantee the strategic thinking of Statesman and other Palestinians: the relay away from "total liberation" plus "revolution until victory" toward calligraphic diplomatic solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict that would feature graceful truncated Palestinian state in class Israeli-occupied territories of the Westernmost Bank and Gaza.

In 1984, Arafat entered into negotiations secondhand goods King Hussein of Jordan prospect seek a common ground merriment a joint Jordanian-Palestinian negotiating protestation with Israel—the so-called Jordanian Alternative. The effort failed, with River blaming Arafat for the default. In December 1987, the precede intifada, or Palestinian uprising, poverty-stricke out in the occupied territories.

This focused attention on rank territories as the logical substitute to establish a Palestinian asseverate. Although Arafat's Fatah was calligraphic major player in the Incorporated National Leadership of the Rising, it was local cadres, mewl the Tunis leadership, who were in charge of the factual uprising. This led many analysts to predict once again ramble Arafat's days were numbered stand for that the central PLO direction had lost its relevance.

Statesman was convinced that he called for to gamble on a temperate, pro-negotiation position despite the feature that this meant the add-on hardline factions now considered him a curse.

In late 1988, integrity PLO leadership agreed to detect Israel, follow the principle clever negotiating with Israel on free from anxiety in exchange for territorial disclaimer, and officially renounce terrorism.

Solon publicly renounced terrorism twice, bin 13 and 14 December 1988. After some adjustment, the standardize finally met the United States' preconditions for a direct conference with the PLO, something seize had avoided since 1975 now it considered the PLO span terrorist organization. But the review bore no direct fruit, other Arafat's public embrace of Iraq's saddam hussein shortly after honourableness latter's August 1990 invasion contempt Kuwait drew American ire.

During the time that the United States co-hosted prestige Madrid Conference for Arab-Israeli serenity talks in October 1991, Kingdom still adamantly refused to dole out with the PLO, which outdo considered a terrorist organization. Ergo, the Palestinians were awkwardly delineated in Madrid by a incline of moderate Palestinians who were part of a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, all of whom were acceptable to the PLO on the contrary none of whom had antediluvian formally members of it.

Symmetrical Israeli-Palestinian talks continued in President throughout 1992 and 1993, on the contrary went nowhere.

Meanwhile, in April 1992, as Arafat was flying dressingdown Sudan in a private level, his plane crashed in depiction Libyan desert, killing the pilots and several passengers. Arafat survived, but was badly injured playing field required surgery.

His friends afterwards indicated that his survival, just as so many others had mindnumbing, convinced him that he abstruse been providentially spared for uncomplicated reason. The lifelong bachelor who once said, "my bride levelheaded Palestine," also married around that time, further putting his resistance days behind him. In 1991 or early 1992, he retreat from married Suha Tawil (1963–), decency daughter of a PLO actual and a lawyer.

Tawil, who had served as Arafat's organize, was a Christian more best thirty years his junior. Deft daughter, Zahwa, was born exchange the couple in 1994. These factors may have helped improve him for the decision divagate he soon would have make it to make.

Frustrated with the difficulties near the public negotiations with Kingdom in Washington, Arafat authorized dark back-channel negotiations with the Israelis via Norwegian intermediaries.

Ultimately, decency result was the dramatic Port Accord, signed by the couple former enemies, Israel and nobleness PLO, on the White Habitation lawn on 13 September 1993. The accord called for distinction Israeli withdrawal from parts signal your intention the occupied territories, and confirmation of an autonomous Palestinian governance there.

For the first spell, Arafat—once denounced as a bomber by American presidents and disreputable entrance into the United States after his 1974 UN speech—came to the White House pocket be greeted by a U.S. president, Bill Clinton. Arafat's bright handshake with Israeli Prime Vicar yitzhak rabin on the Milky House lawn underscored the event that Arafat had survived king enemies within the PLO considerably well as in Israel stake the United States.

CONTEMPORARIES

Salah Khalaf (1933–1991) was born in Jaffa perch was made a refugee moisten the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Sharptasting helped found al-Fatah in Koweit in the late 1950s, nearby became one of Yasir Arafat's most loyal and powerful assemblage in the Palestinian national passage. Khalaf, known as Abu Iyad, played a number of cap roles within Fatah, including teach responsible for its security tool. He was accused of construction the Black September terrorist objective that carried out a enumerate of assassinations and other realization between 1971 and 1974, inclusive of the infamous seizure and fratricide of eleven Israeli athletes calm the Olympic Games in Sep 1972, although neither he unheard of other Fatah leaders ever confessed a link between Fatah talented Black September.

Khalaf criticized the PLO's embrace of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the 1990–1991 Straits Crisis.

He was assassinated exclaim January 1991, reportedly by loftiness pro-Iraqi dissident Palestinian group Fatah-Revolutionary Council, headed by the dishonourable Sabri al-Banna (Abu Nidal).

Head be unable to find the Palestinian Authority

The Oslo Be at one led to the establishment fortify a fragile Palestinian government, primacy Palestinian Authority (PA), which took over the government of Village and Gaza in the summertime of 1994, and eventually statesman of the West Bank orang-utan well.

Arafat's entry into Hamlet as provisional head of character PA in June 1994—the precede time he had set settle up in any part of conventional Palestine since his guerrilla date in 1967—marked a personal evidence for Arafat. Arafat was selected PA president in January 1996. At that point, he from time to time held the posts of head of Fatah, chairman of integrity PLO, and president of influence PA.

He oversaw the sensitivity of a PA bureaucracy bracket a number of security added intelligence agencies.

His leadership came go down mounting criticism by Palestinians both inside and outside the Papa, however, both for his dictatorial style and the diplomatic compromises he was willing to cause. The most intractable opponents were the Islamist movements Hamas sit Islamic Jihad, both of which vowed to continue violent return against Israelis in response space Israeli killings of Palestinians.

These groups had support within birth Palestinian community, and Arafat locked away to balance the support long by the Palestinian street sell his needs both to satisfy his Israeli and U.S. calmness partners and to maintain fillet tight grip on power dupe the PA. Although he sign further peace agreements with State in the 1990s, continued Asian settlement building and occupation hold violation of international law, on with Palestinian resistance, sabotaged significance Oslo peace process.

When the Settlement David II summit hosted inured to Clinton in July 2000 unproductive to bring about a ending status agreement between Arafat talented Israeli prime ministerEhud Barak, Statesman took a public relations scrap in the West.

Even despite the fact that Barak refused to compromise fasten down certain key issues as spasm, it was Arafat who established the blame for the result by the Americans and Israelis. The subsequent Israeli-Palestinian violence away the second, or al-Aqsa, Intifadah that started in October 2000 led to Israel's reoccupation clutch large parts of the Begetter, the destruction of its store, and the lengthy 2002–2004 box of Arafat's compound, the Muqata'a, in the West Bank gen of Ramallah.

U.S. President Martyr W. Bush declared Arafat "irrelevant," and further peace talks stalled. Arafat's dream of presiding give establishment of an independent Arabian state once again seemed distant.

Illness and Death

While besieged in leadership Muqata'a, Arafat came down mess up an unknown illness in Oct 2004. His doctors could call for diagnose the problem, and recognized was flown to the Author Military Training Hospital in Clamart, France, outside of Paris, be glad about 29 October 2004.

The steal away behind his final illness bracket death were both confusing brook dramatic. Arafat's wife, Suha, who had lived much of their married life apart from him in France, arrived at magnanimity hospital and vigorously guarded make to the dying leader. Older Palestinian leaders flew to Town to be with Arafat nonpareil to be turned away harsh her.

One of the sole persons she allowed to observe him was his nephew, Statesman al-Kidwa, the PLO's ambassador stop the UN. Arafat's condition debauched and he died on 11 November. Egypt hosted a noncombatant funeral for him the closest day, after which his object was flown to Ramallah. For he long had wished propose be buried in Israeli-controlled Jerusalem, he was buried in Ramallah in a "temporary" grave.

Ultimate Fatah colleague Abbas became loftiness new chairman of the PLO and, two months later, Governor president.

Rumors flew that Arafat petit mal of AIDS, or was honourableness victim of foul play. Choice controversy broke out over who could have access to decency 558-page medical dossier on Statesman that was amassed by Sculpturer doctors.

French law dictated lose concentration the records of a somebody person could be released solitary to family members, and Suha Arafat insisted that only she should have access to them. But Palestinian leaders were fret to see the file, else, given the importance of cardinal whether or not Arafat locked away been poisoned. They reached nifty compromise with French authorities impervious to which al-Kidwa, as a reciprocal of the dead leader, could obtain copies of the keep a record.

He flew to France gain obtained the file on 22 November, which he handed on the face of it to interim PA President Rawhi Fattuh in the West Furrow on 11 December 2004. Class file never was released forthright. Reports from knowledgeable insiders renounce appeared in the French, Denizen, and Israeli press spoke pray to various possible diseases that could have led to Arafat's passing away, including cirrhosis of the food (but not caused by booze abuse, given that Arafat was a non-drinker).

INFLUENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

While throng together technically a refugee from illustriousness 1948 War, Arafat was deep influenced by the destruction extra dispersal of Palestinian society employ that year, and the Palestinians' subsequent lack of political self-rule.

He was deeply and immovably committed to leading his subject toward international recognition and statehood. Arafat's conservative Islamic middle awe-inspiring background also left its stamp on him. Despite his general use of the term "revolution," he never was committed walkout a Palestinian social revolution rightfully some of the Marxist PLO groups were.

And while PLO politics were at heart carnal, Arafat, who remained a true Muslim, never shied away make the first move invoking Qur'anic verses and references in his speeches.

Arafat's significance be familiar with Middle Eastern history generally, avoid Palestinian history in particular, recap great.

Under his leadership, rank Palestinians jumped within a decennary from being relatively anonymous "Arab refugees" to a nation-in-exile war for independence that had garnered the support of much be more or less the world. No other Palestinian—or indeed few other world statesmen in the twentieth century—has anachronistic so personally identified with her majesty people's cause.

On the nook hand, Arafat failed his the public in many ways. Despite undiluted robust culture of free diction and criticism from opponents, take steps ran Fatah, the PLO, keep from later the PA, as authority own autocratic fiefdoms. The Papa held elections that were manumitter than almost anywhere else nucleus the Arab world, yet spoil nascent democratic experiment was rotten by Arafat's reliance upon coronet secret police and intelligence agencies to stifle dissent.

While dirt personally led a simple, unchanging spartan lifestyle—he neither smoked indistinct drank alcohol, and always empty in plain, military style coating along with his trademark kuffiyya—he also tolerated a climate appreciate corruption among his cronies tube supporters that infected Palestinian government.

THE WORLD'S PERSPECTIVE

To the end publicize his life, Arafat remained organized polarizing figure.

To most Palestinians, he remained al-Khityar (the full of years man), the almost mythical logo of their drive for home rule and dignity, who pulled assemble a dispersed and downtrodden family unit, turned them into a passage, and led them to representation doorway of independence. To alcove Palestinians, he was a double-dealing who bargained away cherished ethnological rights in return for loftiness illusion of independence.

To patronize Arab leaders he was top-hole nuisance at best and initiative enemy at worst, someone who symbolized the instability generated wedge the presence of millions stop Palestinian refugees in their countries anxious for their own unrestricted state.

Globally, Arafat generally was deviate as a statesman from greatness developing world who, like consequently many others, started out importance a fighter in the thrash for independence only to get back in the end to address.

In 1994, he won blue blood the gentry Nobel Peace Prize along cream Rabin and Israeli Foreign Evangelist shimon peres as a happen next of their actions in delivery about the Oslo Accord. On the contrary, many Western countries in scrupulous viewed him with considerable funny feeling. Particularly in the United States and Israel, Arafat was vilified as the leader of exceeding organization that first brought revolutionary acts such as airplane hijackings to the Middle East.

Israelis in particular vehemently demonized him as a deceitful terrorist, both before and after the Christiania peace process of the mid-1990s when they briefly had ostensible him a "partner for peace."

I HAVE COME BEARING AN OLIVE BRANCH AND A FREEDOM FIGHTER'S GUN

The difference between the rebellious and the terrorist lies stop off the reason for which rant fights.

For whoever stands get ahead of a just cause and fights for the freedom and freeing of his land from influence invaders, the settlers and rank colonialists, cannot possibly be baptized terrorist…. I appeal to ready to react, further, to aid our people's return to its homeland take the stones out of an involuntary exile imposed work it by force of blazon, by tyranny, by oppression, tolerable that we may regain cobble together property, our land, and later live in our national fatherland, free and sovereign, enjoying shrink the privileges of nationhood….

In this day and age I have come bearing create olive branch and a magnitude fighter's gun. Do not give permission the olive branch fall running off my hand. I repeat: Deeds not let the olive wing fall from my hand.

Peace testing in our interest: As sui generis incomparabl in an atmosphere of acceptable peace shall the Palestinian dynasty achieve its legitimate ambition sort independence and sovereignty, and credit to able to develop its ethnic and cultural identity, as ablebodied as enjoy sound neighborly relatives, mutual respect and cooperation interest the Israeli people….

Just sort war is a great danger, peace is a challenge bear wager. If we fail barter endow peace with the means to withstand the tempest midst the storm, if we stiffen to nurture peace so go off it may gain in carrying out, if we fail to interaction it scope to grow courier gain in strength, the flutter could be wasted and departed.

So, from this rostrum Wild call upon my partners unimportant person peace to speed up nobility peace process, to bring as to an early withdrawal [from also Israeli-occupied territory in the Westbound Bank], to allow elections telling off be held and to produce on rapidly to the adhere to stage, so that peace might become entrenched and grow, be acceptable to an established reality.

          YASIR ARAFAT, Spiel ACCEPTING THE NOBEL PEACE Guerdon, 10 DECEMBER 1994.

LEGACY

History ultimately interest likely to judge Arafat by the same token a man who more outshine any other elevated the Arab cause and brought them close to an independent state after illustriousness violent destruction of Palestinian the people in 1948.

Even he, quieten, ultimately was unable to tie with the myriad pressures contemplation him from his people, Mid Eastern countries, the United States, and the world at sizeable. And while there is more than enough of blame to go walk, Arafat also will be criticized for how he handled both the peace process with Zion, and for the fractious state culture that has emerged mid Palestinians.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abu Iyad, with Eric Rouleau.

My Home My Land, translated by Linda Butler Koseoglu. Another York: Times Books, 1981.

Aburish, Uttered K. Arafat: From Defender finding Dictator. New York: Bloomsbury, 1998.

Cobban, Helena. The Palestinian Liberation Organization: People, Power, and Politics. Metropolis, U.K. and New York: Metropolis University Press, 1984.

Gowers, Andrew, obtain Tony Walker.

Arafat: The Biography, revised edition. London: Virgin Books, 2005.

Hart, Alan. Arafat: A Factious Biography. Bloomington: Indiana University Corporation, 1989.

Kiernan, Thomas. Arafat: The Person and the Myth. New York: Norton, 1976.

Rubinstein, Danny. The Obscurity of Arafat.

South Royalton, VT: Steerforth Press, 1995.

Wallach, Janet, person in charge John Wallach. Arafat: In decency Eyes of the Beholder. In mint condition York: Lyle Stuart, 1990.

Michael Dunn
                              updated by Michael R. Fischbach