View source for Yasser Arafat

{{Short description|President of Palestine from 1989 to 2004}}
{{Redirect|Yasir Arafat}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Yasser Arafat
| native_name = {{nobold|ياسر عرفات}}
| native_name_lang = ar
| birth_name = Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini
| image = Leader of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, 1996 Dan Hadani Archive.jpg
| caption = Arafat in 1996
| order = 1st [[President of the Palestinian National Authority]]
| term_start = 5 July 1994
| term_end = 11 November 2004
| primeminister = {{Plainlist|
* [[Mahmoud Abbas]]
* [[Ahmed Qurei]]
 }}
| successor = [[Rawhi Fattouh]] (interim)<br>Mahmoud Abbas
| order1 = 1st [[President of Palestine]]
| term_start1 = 2 April 1989
| term_end1 = 11 November 2004
| primeminister1 = Mahmoud Abbas<br>Ahmed Qurei
| successor1 = Rawhi Fattouh (interim)<br>Mahmoud Abbas
| order2 = 3rd [[Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization]]
| term_start2 = 4 February 1969
| term_end2 = 29 October 2004
| predecessor2 = [[Yahya Hammuda]]
| successor2 = Mahmoud Abbas
| birth_date = {{circa|August 1929}}
| birth_place = [[Cairo]], Kingdom of Egypt
| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|11|11|1929|8|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Clamart]], Hauts-de-Seine, France
| resting_place = [[Mukataa#Arafat's compound|Arafat's compound]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Suha Arafat]]|17 July 1990}}
| children = 1
| party = [[Fatah]]
| nickname = Abu Ammar<ref>[[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 ibn Yasir|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]", {{harvnb|Cobban|1984|p=272}}</ref>
| profession = [[Civil engineer]]
| signature = Yasser Arafat signature.svg
| alma_mater = [[Cairo University|University of King Fuad I]]
}}{{Yasser Arafat series}}
'''Yasser Arafat'''{{efn|Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ær|ə|f|æ|t}} {{respell|ARR|ə|fat}}, {{IPAc-en|usalso|ˈ|ɑr|ə|f|ɑː|t}} {{respell|AR|ə|faht}};<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of Arafat |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/arafat |access-date=12 February 2023 |website=dictionary.com |publisher=Random House}}</ref> {{langx|ar|ياسر عرفات|Yāsir ʿArafāt}}, {{IPA|arz|ˈjæːser ʕɑrɑˈfɑːt|lang}}; full birth name: '''Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini''' ({{langx|ar|محمد عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني|Muḥammad ʿAbd ar-Raḥman ʿAbd ar-Raʾūf ʿArafāt al-Qudwa al-Ḥusaynī|links=no}}).}} ({{circa|August 1929}} – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his [[Kunya (Arabic)|kunya]] '''Abu Ammar''',{{efn|{{langx|ar|أبو عمار|ʾAbū ʿAmmār|links=no}}.}} was a Palestinian political leader. He was [[chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, [[President of Palestine]] from 1989 to 2004 and [[President of the Palestinian Authority]] (PNA) from 1994 to 2004.<ref>Some sources use the term ''Chairman'', rather than ''President''; the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for both titles is the same. See [[President of the Palestinian National Authority]] for further information.</ref> Ideologically an [[Arab nationalist]] and a [[Arab socialism|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 [[Cairo University|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 [[Black September|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 [[UN Security Council Resolution 242|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 [[Arafat's Compound|his Ramallah compound]] for over two years by the Israeli army, Arafat fell into a coma and died. The [[Cause of Yasser Arafat's death|cause of Arafat's death]] remains the subject of speculation. Investigations by Russian and French teams determined no foul play was involved,<ref name="French Investigation">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/16/yasser-arafat-french-rule-out-foul-play|title=Yasser Arafat: French rule out foul play in former Palestinian leader's death| work=The Guardian|date=16 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/France-drops-investigation-into-Arafats-death-415023|title=France drops investigation into Arafat's death| work=The Jerusalem Post|date=2 September 2015 |agency=Reuters|access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="Russian Investigation">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/yasser-arafat-investigation-russian-probe-finds-death-not-caused-by-radiation/|title=Yasser Arafat investigation: Russian probe finds death not caused by radiation| publisher=CBS News|date=26 December 2013 |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref> while a Swiss team determined he was [[Polonium#Cases of poisoning|radiologically poisoned]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="AJ_Swiss_study" />

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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Creed|first=Richard D. Jr.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PhRvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT53|title=Eighteen Years in Lebanon and Two Intifadas: The Israeli Defense Force and the U.S. Army Operational Environment|date=2014|publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing|isbn=978-1-78289-593-0|page=53}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=As'ad |last=Ghanem |url=https://archive.org/details/palestinianpolit0000gani |title=Palestinian Politics after Arafat: A Failed National Movement |publisher=Indiana University Press |date=2010 |page=259}}</ref><ref name="Arafat reviled particularly">{{cite news|url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/world/middleeast/palestinians-may-exhume-arafat-after-report-of-poisoning.html|title=Palestinians May Exhume Arafat After Report of Poisoning| work=The New York Times|date=4 July 2012|access-date=5 August 2012|author=Kershner, Isabel}}</ref><ref name="Washington">{{cite news|title=A Dreamer Who Forced His Cause Onto World Stage|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41509-2004Nov10.html|first=Lee|last=Hockstader|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=11 November 2004|access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref> Palestinian rivals, including [[Islamism|Islamists]] and several [[Rejectionist Front|PLO radicals]], frequently denounced him as corrupt or too submissive in his concessions to the Israeli government.

{{Anchor|Early life, education and personal life}}

==Early life==
[[File:Yasser Arafat in 1942.jpg|thumb|Arafat (right) with his sister Khadija and brother [[Fathi Arafat|Fathi]] in Cairo, 1942]]

===Birth and childhood===
Arafat was born in [[Cairo]], Egypt,<ref name="Birth">Not certain; Disputed; Most sources including Tony Walker, [[Andrew Gowers]], [[Alan Hart (writer)|Alan Hart]] and [[Said K. Aburish]] indicate Cairo as Arafat's place of birth, but others list his birthplace as Jerusalem as well as Gaza. See [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1994/arafat-bio.html Nobel Prize Biography] and [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/890161.stm BBC Obituary] for more information. Some believe also that the Jerusalem birthplace might have been a little known rumor created by the KGB (see [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/arafat.html Jewish Vitual Library]).</ref> on 4<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kumaraswamy |first=P. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKXvCSc93zEC&q=Arafat%25201929%2520%25224%2520august%2522&pg=PA26 |title=The A to Z of the Arab-Israeli Conflict |date=24 July 2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7015-4 |page=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 March 2016 |title=Yasser Arafat Mausoleum |url=http://www.alluringworld.com/yasser-arafat-mausoleum/ |access-date=5 September 2019 |website=Alluring World}}</ref> or 24 August 1929.<ref>{{harvnb|Hart|1989|page=[https://archive.org/details/arafatpoliticalb00hart/page/67 67]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Michael |title=Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa: A–C |date=2004 |publisher=Macmillan Reference |isbn=978-0-02-865769-1 |editor1-last=Mattar |editor1-first=Philip |volume=1 |place=Detroit |pages=269–272 |chapter=Arafat, Yasir |quote=Arafat and his family have always insisted that he was born 4 August 1929. in his mother's family home in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, an Egyptian birth registration exists, suggesting that he was born in Egypt on 24 August 1929... |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo00phil_0/page/268/mode/1up |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|269}} His father, Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini, a distant relative of [[Amin al-Husseini]], the former [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title=Arafat, The Man Who Wanted Too Much|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0030438711000330|journal=Orbis|date=2011-01-01|issn=0030-4387|pages=472–480|volume=55|issue=3|doi=10.1016/j.orbis.2011.04.012|first=Harvey|last=Sicherman|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=The Father of Modern Terrorism - CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-father-of-modern-terrorism/|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=2004-11-12|access-date=2025-11-30|language=en-US}}</ref>, was a Palestinian from [[Gaza City]], whose mother, Yasser's paternal grandmother, was [[Egypt]]ian. Arafat's father battled in the Egyptian courts for 25 years to claim family land in Egypt as part of his inheritance but was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite book| title=Yasser Arafat| publisher=Rosen Publishing Group| year=2003| first=Bernadette |last=Brexel| page=12}}</ref> He worked as a textile merchant in Cairo's religiously mixed [[El-Sakakini|Sakakini District]]. Arafat was the second-youngest of seven children and was, along with his younger brother [[Fathi Arafat|Fathi]], the only offspring born in Cairo. [[Jerusalem]] was the family home of his mother, Zahwa Abul Saud, who died from a kidney ailment in 1933, when Arafat was four years of age.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998||pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/7 7–32]}}</ref>

Arafat's first visit to Jerusalem came when his father, unable to raise seven children alone, sent Yasser and his brother Fathi to their mother's family in the [[Mughrabi Quarter]] of the [[Old City of Jerusalem|Old City]]. They lived there with their uncle Salim Abul Saud for four years. In 1937, their father recalled them to be taken care of by their older sister, Inam. Arafat had a deteriorating relationship with his father; when he died in 1952, Arafat did not attend the funeral, nor did he visit his father's grave upon his return to Gaza. Arafat's sister Inam stated in an interview with Arafat's biographer, British historian Alan Hart, that Arafat was heavily beaten by his father for going to the Jewish quarter in Cairo and attending religious services. When she asked Arafat why he would not stop going, he responded by saying that he wanted to study Jewish mentality.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>

===Education===
In 1944, Arafat enrolled in the [[Cairo University|University of King Fuad I]] and graduated in 1950.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/> At university, he engaged Jews in discussion and read publications by [[Theodor Herzl]] and other prominent Zionists.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yasser Arafat: Homeland a dream for Palestinian Authority Chief|url=http://www.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Yasser.Arafat/student.storypage.html|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=5 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011118060808/http://www.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Yasser.Arafat/student.storypage.html|archive-date=18 November 2001|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1946, he was an [[Arab nationalism|Arab nationalist]] and began procuring weapons to be smuggled into [[Mandatory Palestine]], for use by [[Irregular military|irregulars]] in the [[Arab Higher Committee]] and the [[Army of the Holy War]] militias.<ref>{{harvnb|Rubenstein|Leon|1995|page=[https://archive.org/details/mysteryofarafat00rubi/page/38 38]}}</ref>

During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], Arafat left the university and, along with other Arabs, sought to enter [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] to join Arab forces fighting against [[Haganah|Israeli troops]] and the creation of the state of Israel. During the war, Arafat allegedly acted as a go-between in arms procurement for the Mufti of Jerusalem Amin al-Husseini’s troops.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yasser and Fathi Arafat remembered, 20 years after their deaths|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/11/17/yasser-and-fathi-arafat-remembered-20-years-after-their-deaths|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=2025-11-30|language=en|first=Bianca|last=Carrera}}</ref> However, instead of joining the ranks of the [[Palestinian fedayeen]], Arafat fought alongside the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], although he did not join the organization. He took part in combat in the Gaza area (which was the main battleground of [[Military of Egypt|Egyptian forces]] during the conflict). In early 1949, the war was winding down in Israel's favor, and Arafat returned to Cairo due to a lack of logistical support.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>

After returning to the university, Arafat studied [[civil engineering]] and served as president of the [[General Union of Palestinian Students]] (GUPS) from 1952 to 1956. During his first year as president of the union, the university was renamed Cairo University after a [[1952 Egyptian revolution|coup]] was carried out by the [[Free Officers Movement (Egypt)|Free Officers Movement]] overthrowing [[Farouk of Egypt|King Farouk I]]. By that time, Arafat had graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and was called to duty to fight with Egyptian forces during the [[Suez Crisis]]; however, he never actually fought.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/> Later that year, at a conference in [[Prague]], he donned a solid white [[keffiyeh]]–different from the fishnet-patterned one he adopted later in [[Kuwait]], which was to become his emblem.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/46 46]}}</ref>

===Personal life===
In 1990, Arafat married [[Suha Arafat|Suha Tawil]], a [[Palestinian Christians|Palestinian Christian]], when he was 61 and Suha, 27. Her mother introduced her to him in France, after which she worked as his secretary in Tunis.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/246 246–247]}}</ref><ref name="Suha">{{cite news|title=Profile: Suha Arafat |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3965541.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=11 November 2004|access-date=16 June 2024 }}</ref> Prior to their marriage, Arafat adopted fifty Palestinian [[orphan|war orphans]].<ref name="timeexpecting">{{cite magazine|title=Milestones|magazine=Time|date=19 December 1994 }}</ref> During their marriage, Suha tried to leave Arafat on many occasions, but he forbade it.<ref name="star1">{{cite journal|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-09/205749-arafats-widow-tried-to-leave-palestinian-leader-hundreds-of-times.ashx#axzz2KIO7W2jH|title=Arafat's widow tried to leave Palestinian leader 'hundreds of times'|journal=The Daily Star|date=9 February 2013|access-date=11 February 2013|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816043730/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-09/205749-arafats-widow-tried-to-leave-palestinian-leader-hundreds-of-times.ashx#axzz2KIO7W2jH|url-status=dead}}</ref> Suha said she regrets the marriage, and given the choice again would not repeat it.<ref name="star1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/suha-arafat-i-wish-id-never-married-him/|title=Suha Arafat: I wish I'd never married him|website=[[The Times of Israel]] |first=Stuart |last=Winer |date=10 February 2013 |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref> In mid-1995, Arafat's wife gave birth in a Paris hospital to a daughter, named Zahwa after Arafat's mother.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/290 290]}}</ref>

===Name===
Arafat's full name was '''Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini'''. Mohammed Abdel Rahman was his first name, Abdel Raouf was his father's name and Arafat his grandfather's. [[Qudwa|Al-Qudwa]] was the name of his tribe and al-Husseini was that of the clan to which the al-Qudwas belonged. The al-Husseini clan was based in Gaza and is not related to the well-known [[al-Husayni]] clan of Jerusalem, other notable family members include [[Amin al-Husseini]].<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

Since Arafat was raised in Cairo, the tradition of dropping the Mohammed or Ahmad portion of one's first name was common; notable Egyptians such as [[Anwar Sadat]] and [[Hosni Mubarak]] did so. However, Arafat dropped Abdel Rahman and Abdel Raouf from his name as well. During the early 1950s, Arafat adopted the name Yasser, and in the early years of Arafat's guerrilla career, he assumed the [[Noms de guerre|nom de guerre]] of Abu Ammar. Both names are related to [[Ammar ibn Yasir]], one of [[Muhammad]]'s early [[Sahaba|companions]]. Although he dropped most of his inherited names, he retained Arafat due to its [[Mount Arafat|significance in Islam]].<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>

==Rise of Fatah==

===Founding of Fatah===
Following the [[Suez Crisis]] in 1956, Egyptian president [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] agreed to allow the [[United Nations Emergency Force]] to establish itself in the [[Sinai Peninsula]] and [[Gaza Strip]], precipitating the expulsion of all [[guerrilla]] or "[[Palestinian Fedayeen|fedayeen]]" forces there—including Arafat. Arafat originally attempted to obtain a visa to Canada and later [[Saudi Arabia]], but was unsuccessful in both attempts.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian" /> In 1957, he applied for a visa to [[Kuwait]] (at the time a British protectorate) and was approved, based on his work in civil engineering. There he encountered two Palestinian friends: [[Salah Khalaf]] ("Abu Iyad") and [[Khalil al-Wazir]] ("Abu Jihad"), both official members of the [[Muslim Brotherhood (Egypt)|Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood]]. Arafat had met Abu Iyad while attending Cairo University and Abu Jihad in Gaza. Both would later become Arafat's top aides. Abu Iyad traveled with Arafat to Kuwait in late 1960; Abu Jihad, also working as a teacher, had already been living there since 1959.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Phillip|last=Mattar|title=Biography of Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad)|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/al-Ramla/Story175.html|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Palestinians|publisher=Facts on File; 1st edition|date=12 November 2000|access-date=17 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821202540/http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/al-Ramla/Story175.html|archive-date=21 August 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> After settling in Kuwait, Abu Iyad helped Arafat obtain a temporary job as a schoolteacher.<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/33 33–67]}}</ref>

As Arafat began to develop friendships with Palestinian refugees (some of whom he knew from his Cairo days), he and the others gradually founded the group that became known as [[Fatah]]. The exact date for the establishment of Fatah is unknown. In 1959, the group's existence was attested to in the pages of a Palestinian nationalist magazine, ''Filastununa Nida al-Hayat'' (Our Palestine, The Call of Life), which was written and edited by Abu Jihad.<ref name="FatahF">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/33 33–67]}} Aburish says the date of Fatah's founding is unclear but claims in 1959 it was exposed by its magazine.<br />Zeev Schiff, Raphael Rothstein (1972). ''Fedayeen; Guerillas Against Israel''. McKay, p.58; Schiff and Rothstein claim Fatah was founded in 1959.<br /> [[Salah Khalaf]] and [[Khalil al-Wazir]] state Fatah's first formal meeting was in October 1959. See Anat N. Kurz (2005) ''Fatah and the Politics of Violence: The Institutionalization of a Popular Struggle''. Brighton, Portland: Sussex Academic Press (Jaffee Centre for Strategic Studies), pp. 29–30</ref> FaTaH is a [[Fatah#Etymology|reverse acronym]] of the Arabic name ''Harakat al-Tahrir al-Watani al-Filastini'' which translates into "The Palestinian National Liberation Movement".<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Hussein|first=Hassan Khalil|title=Abu Iyad, Unknown Pages of his Life|page=64}}</ref> "Fatah" is also a word that was used in early [[Islamic Caliphate|Islamic times]] to refer to "conquest."<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967"/>

Fatah dedicated itself to the liberation of Palestine by an armed struggle carried out by Palestinians themselves. This differed from other Palestinian political and guerrilla organizations, most of which firmly believed in a united Arab response.<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Cooley|first=John K.|author-link=John K. Cooley|title=Green March, Black September|year=1973|publisher=Frank Crass & Co.|page=[https://archive.org/details/greenmarchblacks00john/page/100 100]|isbn=978-0-7146-2987-2|url=https://archive.org/details/greenmarchblacks00john/}}</ref> Arafat's organization never embraced the ideologies of the major Arab governments of the time, in contrast to other Palestinian factions, which often became satellites of nations such as Egypt, [[Iraq]], Saudi Arabia, [[Syria]] and others.<ref>{{cite book|last=Abu Sharif|first=Bassam|author-link=Bassam Abu Sharif|author2=Uzi Mahmaini|title=Tried by Fire|year=1996|publisher=Time Warner Paperbacks|page=33|isbn=978-0-7515-1636-4}}</ref>

In accordance with his ideology, Arafat generally refused to accept donations to his organization from major Arab governments, in order to act independently of them. He did not want to alienate them, and sought their undivided support by avoiding ideological alliances. However, to establish the groundwork for Fatah's future financial support, he enlisted contributions from the many wealthy Palestinians working in Kuwait and other [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]], such as [[Qatar]] (where he met [[Mahmoud Abbas]] in 1961).<ref>{{cite book|last=Gowers|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Gowers|author2=Tony Walker|title=Behind the Myth: Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Revolution|year=1991|publisher=Interlink Pub Group Inc|page=[https://archive.org/details/behindmyth00andr/page/65 65]|isbn=978-0-940793-86-6|url=https://archive.org/details/behindmyth00andr/}}</ref> These businessmen and oil workers contributed generously to the Fatah organization. Arafat continued this process in other Arab countries, such as [[Libya]] and Syria.<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967"/>

In 1962, Arafat and his closest companions migrated to Syria—a country sharing a border with Israel—which had recently seceded from its [[United Arab Republic|union with Egypt]]. Fatah had approximately three hundred members by this time, but none were fighters.<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967"/> In Syria, he managed to recruit members by offering them higher incomes to enable his armed attacks against Israel. Fatah's manpower was incremented further after Arafat decided to offer new recruits much higher salaries than members of the [[Palestine Liberation Army]] (PLA), the regular military force of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO), which was created by the [[Arab League]] in 1964. On 31 December, a squad from [[al-Assifa]], Fatah's armed wing, attempted to infiltrate Israel, but they were intercepted and detained by [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] security forces. Several other raids with Fatah's poorly trained and badly equipped fighters followed this incident. Some were successful, others failed in their missions. Arafat often led these incursions personally.<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967"/>

Arafat was detained in Syria's [[Mezzeh Prison]] when a Palestinian Syrian Army officer, [[Yusef Urabi]], was killed. Urabi had been chairing a meeting to ease tensions between Arafat and [[Palestinian Liberation Front]] leader [[Ahmed Jibril]], but neither Arafat nor Jibril attended, delegating representatives to attend on their behalf. Urabi was killed during or after the meeting amid disputed circumstances. On the orders of Defense Minister [[Hafez al-Assad]], a close friend of Urabi, Arafat was subsequently arrested, found guilty by a three-man jury and sentenced to death. However, he and his colleagues were pardoned by President [[Salah Jadid]] shortly after the verdict.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hart|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Hart (writer)|title=Arafat|year=1994|publisher=Sidgwick and Jackson|pages=204–205|isbn=978-0-283-06220-9}}</ref> The incident brought Assad and Arafat to unpleasant terms, which would surface later when Assad became President of Syria.<ref name="Fatah and Road to 1967"/>

===Leader of the Palestinians===
On 13 November 1966, Israel launched a major raid against the [[Jordan]]ian administered [[West Bank]] town of [[as-Samu]], in response to a Fatah-implemented roadside bomb attack which had killed three members of the [[Israeli Security Forces|Israeli security forces]] near the southern [[Green Line (Israel)|Green Line]] border. In the resulting skirmish, scores of Jordanian security forces were killed and 125 homes razed. This raid was one of several factors that led to the 1967 [[Six-Day War]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Oren|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Oren|title=Six Days of War, June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East|year=2003|publisher=The Random House Publishing Group|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sixdaysofwarjune0000oren_u3x7/page/33 33–36]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-345-46192-6|url=https://archive.org/details/sixdaysofwarjune0000oren_u3x7/}}</ref>

The Six-Day war began when Israel launched air strikes against [[Egyptian Air Force|Egypt's air force]] on 5 June 1967. The war ended in an Arab defeat and Israel's occupation of several Arab territories, including the West Bank and [[Gaza Strip]]. Although Nasser and his Arab allies had been defeated, Arafat and Fatah could claim a victory, in that the majority of Palestinians, who had up to that time tended to align and sympathize with individual Arab governments, now began to agree that a 'Palestinian' solution to their dilemma was indispensable.<ref name="Consolidation of Power">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/69 69–98]}}</ref> Many primarily Palestinian political parties, including [[George Habash]]'s [[Arab Nationalist Movement]], [[Mohammad Amin al-Husayni|Hajj Amin al-Husseini]]'s [[Arab Higher Committee]], the Islamic Liberation Front and several Syrian-backed groups, virtually crumbled after their sponsor governments' defeat. Barely a week after the defeat, Arafat crossed the [[Jordan River]] in disguise and entered the West Bank, where he set up recruitment centers in [[Hebron]], the [[Jerusalem]] area and [[Nablus]], and began attracting both fighters and financiers for his cause.<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/>

At the same time, Nasser contacted Arafat through the former's adviser [[Mohamed Hassanein Heikal|Mohammed Heikal]] and Arafat was declared by Nasser to be the "leader of the Palestinians."<ref>{{cite book|last=Aburish|first=Said K.|author-link=Said K. Aburish|title=Nasser, The Last Arab|year=2004|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-28683-5|oclc=52766217|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780312286835}}</ref> In December 1967 [[Ahmad Shukeiri]] resigned his post as [[Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO Chairman]]. [[Yahya Hammuda]] took his place and invited Arafat to join the organization. Fatah was allocated 33 of 105 seats of the [[PLO Executive Committee]] while 57 seats were left for several other [[guerrilla]] factions.<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/>

===Battle of Karameh===
{{Main|Battle of Karameh}}

Throughout 1968, Fatah and other Palestinian armed groups were the target of a major Israeli army operation in the Jordanian village of [[Karameh]], where the Fatah headquarters—as well as a mid-sized [[Palestinian refugee camps|Palestinian refugee camp]]—were located. The town's name is the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for 'dignity', which elevated its [[symbol]]ism in the eyes of the [[Arab|Arab people]], especially after the collective Arab defeat in 1967. The operation was in response to attacks, including rockets strikes from Fatah and other Palestinian militias, within the Israeli-occupied West Bank. According to [[Said Aburish]], the government of Jordan and a number of Fatah commandos informed Arafat that large-scale Israeli military preparations for an attack on the town were underway, prompting fedayeen groups, such as George Habash's newly formed [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] (PFLP) and [[Nayef Hawatmeh]]'s breakaway organization the [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] (DFLP), to withdraw their forces from the town. Though advised by a sympathetic [[Royal Jordanian Land Force|Jordanian Army]] divisional commander to withdraw his men and headquarters to the nearby hills, Arafat refused,<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/> stating, "We want to convince the world that there are those in the Arab world who will not withdraw or flee."<ref name="Sayigh">{{cite book|last=Sayigh|first=Yezid|title=Armed Struggle and the Search for State, the Palestinian National Movement, 1949–1993|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-829643-0}}</ref> Aburish writes that it was on Arafat's orders that Fatah remained, and that the Jordanian Army agreed to back them if heavy fighting ensued.<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/>

In response to persistent PLO raids against Israeli civilian targets, Israel [[Battle of Karameh|attacked]] the town of [[Karameh]], Jordan, the site of a major PLO camp. The goal of the invasion was to destroy Karameh camp and capture Yasser Arafat in reprisal for the attacks by the PLO against Israeli civilians, which culminated in an Israeli school bus hitting a mine in the Negev, killing two children.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hI844N9leNUC&q=karameh+battle&pg=PA45|access-date=25 October 2015|title=The Arab-Israeli Conflict|author=Cath Senker|year=2004|publisher=Black Rabbit Books|isbn=9781583404416}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> However, plans for the two operations were prepared in 1967, one year before the bus attack.<ref name="Debacle in the desert">
{{Cite news| title = Debacle in the desert| work = Haaretz| access-date = 13 May 2011| date = 29 March 1968| url = https://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/debacle-in-the-desert-1.361453 |first=Amir |last=Oren}}</ref> The size of the Israeli forces entering Karameh made the Jordanians assume that Israel was also planning to occupy the eastern bank of the Jordan River, including the [[Balqa Governorate]], to create a situation similar to the [[Golan Heights]], which Israel had captured just 10 months prior, to be used a bargaining chip.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQXtz41f-kcC&q=Israel+assumed+that+the+Jordanian+Army+would+ignore+the+invasion&pg=PT242|title=Fortress Israel: The Inside Story of the Military Elite Who Run the Country—and Why They Can't Make Peace|publisher=Macmillan|first=Patrick |last=Tyler|date=18 September 2012|access-date=25 October 2015|isbn=9781429944472}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=83073|script-title=ar:الذكرى الثالثة والأربعون لمعركة الكرامة الخالدة|date=20 March 2011|access-date=16 June 2024|publisher=Ammon News|work=Petra News Agency|language=ar|archive-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418232224/http://www.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=83073|url-status=dead}}</ref> Israel assumed that the Jordanian Army would ignore the invasion, but the latter fought alongside the [[Palestinians]], opening heavy fire that inflicted losses upon the Israeli forces.<ref name="telegraph">{{cite news
| title = 1968: Karameh and the Palestinian revolt
| work = The Telegraph
| access-date = 16 June 2024
| date = 1 May 2002
| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1400177/1968-Karameh-and-the-Palestinian-revolt.html
}}</ref> This engagement marked the first known deployment of [[Suicide attack|suicide bombers]] by Palestinian forces.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Saada, Tass |author2= Merrill, Dean |title=Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life |location=Illinois |date=2008 |pages=4–6 |isbn=978-1-4143-2361-9 |publisher=Tyndale House Publishers}}</ref> The Israelis were repelled at the end of a day's battle, having destroyed most of the Karameh camp and taken around 141 PLO prisoners.<ref name="GUERRILLAS">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/03/23/archives/guerrillas-back-at-jordan-camp-attack-by-israelis-failed-to-destroy.htmlE|access-date=14 June 2024|title=GUERRILLAS BACK AT JORDAN CAMP; Attack by Israelis Failed to Destroy Base at Karameh or Wipe Out Commandos|work=The New York Times|date=23 March 1968 |first=Thomas F. |last=Brady}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Both sides declared victory. On a tactical level, the battle went in Israel's favor<ref name="Zeev Maoz page 246">{{cite book |first=Zeev |last=Maoz |title=Defending the Holy Land: A Critical Analysis of Israel's Security and Foreign Policy |publisher=University of Michigan Press |date=2006 |pages=244–246}}</ref> and the destruction of the Karameh camp was achieved.<ref name="Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars page 205">{{cite book |author=Herzog |title=The Arab-Israeli Wars |page=205}}</ref> However, the relatively high casualties were a considerable surprise for the Israel Defense Forces and was stunning to the Israelis.<ref name="tuckerS" /> Although the Palestinians were not victorious on their own, King Hussein let the Palestinians take credit.<ref name="tuckerS">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAd8efHdVzIC&q=karameh+battle&pg=PA569|title=Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, The: A Political, Social, and Military History: A Political, Social, and Military History|author=Spencer C. Tucker, Priscilla Roberts|publisher=ABC-CLIO|access-date=25 October 2015|date=12 May 2005|isbn=9781851098422}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bXMBQAAQBAJ&q=Israel+assumed+that+the+Jordanian+Army+would+ignore+the+invasion|title=Aviation and Airport Security: Terrorism and Safety Concerns, Second Edition|access-date=27 October 2015|author=Kathleen Sweet|publisher=CRC Press|date=23 December 2008|isbn=9781439894736}}</ref><ref name="assessment">{{cite magazine
| issn = 0040-781X
| title = The Israeli Assessment
| magazine = Time
| access-date = 3 September 2008
| date = 13 December 1968
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839651,00.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081123100239/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839651,00.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 23 November 2008
}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Some have alleged that Arafat himself was on the battlefield, but the details of his involvement are unclear. However, his allies–as well as [[Mossad|Israeli intelligence]]–confirm that he urged his men throughout the battle to hold their ground and continue fighting.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Livingstone|first1=Neil|first2=David |last2=Halevy|title=Inside the PLO|year=1990|publisher=Reader's Digest Association|page=80|isbn=978-0-7090-4548-9}}</ref> The battle was covered in detail by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', and Arafat's face appeared on the cover of the 13 December 1968 issue, bringing his image to the world for the first time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839649,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208225932/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839649,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 February 2007|title=The Guerrilla Threat In the Middle East|access-date=24 August 2007|date=13 December 1968|magazine=Time}}</ref> Amid the post-war environment, the profiles of Arafat and Fatah were raised by this important turning point, and he came to be regarded as a national hero who dared to confront Israel. With mass applause from the [[Arab world]], financial donations increased significantly, and Fatah's weaponry and equipment improved. The group's numbers swelled as many young Arabs, including thousands of non-Palestinians, joined the ranks of Fatah.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cobban|first=Helena|title=The Palestine Liberation Organisation: People, Power and Politics|url=https://archive.org/details/palestinianliber0000cobb|url-access=registration|year=1984|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-27216-2}}</ref>

When the [[Palestinian National Council]] (PNC) convened in Cairo on 3 February 1969, [[Yahya Hammuda]] stepped down from his chairmanship of the PLO. Arafat was elected chairman on 4 February.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HAJIAAAAIBAJ&pg=2064,4351664&dq=arafat&hl=en|work=The Morning Record |via= Google News Archive Search|title=A Fatah Chief To Lead Palestinian Liberation |date=6 February 1969 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/international/19690205arafat.pdf| title=Fatah Wins Control of Palestine Group| work=The New York Times| date=5 February 1969| access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> He became [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the Palestinian Revolutionary Forces two years later, and in 1973, became the head of the PLO's political department.<ref name="Consolidation of Power"/>

==Confrontation with Jordan==
{{See also|Black September}}
[[File:Arafat in Jordan.jpg|thumb|right|Arafat with [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine]] leader, [[Nayef Hawatmeh]] and Palestinian writer [[Kamal Nasser]] at press conference in [[Amman]], 1970]]

In the late 1960s, tensions between Palestinians and the Jordanian government increased greatly; heavily armed Palestinian elements had created a virtual "state within a state" in Jordan, eventually controlling several strategic positions in that country. After their proclaimed victory in the Battle of Karameh, Fatah and other Palestinian militias began taking control of civil life in Jordan. They set up roadblocks, publicly humiliated Jordanian police forces, molested women and levied illegal taxes—all of which Arafat either condoned or ignored.<ref name="Sayigh"/> [[Hussein of Jordan|King Hussein]] considered this a growing threat to his kingdom's sovereignty and security, and attempted to disarm the militias. However, in order to avoid a military confrontation with opposition forces, Hussein dismissed several of his anti-PLO cabinet officials, including some of his own family members, and invited Arafat to become Deputy [[Prime Minister of Jordan]]. Arafat refused, citing his belief in the need for a [[Palestinian state]] with Palestinian leadership.<ref name="Black September">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/100 100–112]}}</ref>

Despite Hussein's intervention, militant actions in Jordan continued. On 15 September 1970, the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|PFLP]] (part of the PLO) hijacked four planes and landed three of them at [[Dawson's Field hijackings|Dawson's Field]], located {{convert|30|mi|km|0}} east of [[Amman]]. After the foreign national hostages were taken off the planes and moved away from them, three of the planes were blown up in front of international press, which took photos of the explosion. This tarnished Arafat's image in many western nations, including the United States, who held him responsible for controlling Palestinian factions that belonged to the PLO. Arafat, bowing to pressure from Arab governments, publicly condemned the hijackings and suspended the PFLP from any guerrilla actions for a few weeks. He had taken the same action after the PFLP attacked [[Athens International Airport|Athens Airport]]. The Jordanian government moved to regain control over its territory, and the next day, King Hussein declared [[martial law]].<ref name="Black September"/> On the same day, Arafat became supreme commander of the [[Palestine Liberation Army|PLA]].<ref name="Jordan">{{cite news|title=Black September in Jordan 1970–1971|url=http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/bravo/blacksept1970.htm|publisher=Armed Conflict Events Data|date=16 December 2000|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Nasser brokering ceasefire with Chairman Arafat and King Hussein.jpg|thumb|right|Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] (center) mediating an agreement between Arafat and Jordanian [[Hussein of Jordan|King Hussein]] to end to the [[Black September in Jordan|Black September]] conflict, during the [[1970 Arab League summit|emergency Arab League summit]], September 1970]]

As [[Black September|the conflict raged]], other Arab governments attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution. As part of this effort, Gamal Abdel Nasser led the first emergency [[1970 Arab League summit|Arab League summit in Cairo]] on 21 September. Arafat's speech drew sympathy from attending Arab leaders. Other heads of state took sides against Hussein, among them [[Muammar Gaddafi]], who mocked him and his schizophrenic father [[Talal of Jordan|King Talal]]. A ceasefire was agreed upon between the two sides, but Nasser died of a massive heart attack hours after the summit, and the conflict resumed shortly afterward.<ref name="Black September"/>

By 25 September, the Jordanian Army achieved dominance, and two days later Arafat and Hussein agreed to a ceasefire in Amman. The Jordanian Army inflicted heavy casualties on the Palestinians—including civilians—who suffered approximately 3,500 fatalities.<ref name="Jordan"/> After repeated violations of the ceasefire from both the PLO and the Jordanian Army, Arafat called for King Hussein to be toppled. Responding to the threat, in June 1971, Hussein ordered his forces to oust all remaining Palestinian fighters in northern Jordan, which they accomplished. Arafat and a number of his forces, including two high-ranking commanders, [[Abu Iyad]] and [[Abu Jihad]], were forced into the northern corner of Jordan. They relocated near the town of [[Jerash]], near the border with Syria. With the help of [[Munib Masri]], a pro-Palestinian Jordanian cabinet member, and Fahd al-Khomeimi, the Saudi ambassador to Jordan, Arafat managed to enter Syria with nearly two thousand of his fighters. However, due to the hostility of relations between Arafat and Syrian President [[Hafez al-Assad]] (who had since ousted President [[Salah Jadid]]), the Palestinian fighters crossed the border into Lebanon to join PLO forces in that country, where they set up their new headquarters.<ref name="Mahran">{{cite book|last=Rasheda|first=Mahran|title=Arafat, the Difficult Number|language=ar|publisher=Dar al-Hayan|pages=175–181}}</ref>

==Headquarters in Lebanon==

===Official recognition===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-K1102-032, Berlin, Brandenburger Tor, Yasser Arafat.jpg|thumb|Yasser Arafat visits East Germany in 1971; background: [[Brandenburg Gate]]]]
[[File:Bhim Singh and Yasser Arafat in Syria.jpg|thumb|Yasser Arafat with [[Bhim Singh (politician)|Bhim Singh]], founder of [[Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party]], in the 1970s]]
Because of Lebanon's weak central government, the PLO was able to operate virtually as an independent state.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Conscience of Lebanon: A Political Biography of Ettiene Sakr (Abu-Arz)|last=Nisan|first=Mordechi|location=London, Portland, Oregon|publisher=Frank Cass|isbn=0-7146-5392-6|year=2003|page=20}}</ref> During this time in the 1970s, numerous [[Left-wing politics|leftist]] PLO groups took up arms against Israel, carrying out attacks against civilians as well as military targets within Israel and outside of it.<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Helen Chapin |editor-last=Metz |editor-link=Helen Chapin Metz |title=Israel: A Country Study |chapter-url=http://countrystudies.us/israel/33.htm |year=1988 |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |location=Washington |chapter=Israel in Lebanon}}</ref>

Two major incidents occurred in 1972. The Fatah subgroup [[Black September Organization]] hijacked [[Sabena Flight 572]] en route to [[Vienna]] and forced it to land at the [[Ben Gurion International Airport]] in Israel.<ref name="PLO terrorist attacks">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/122 122–125]}}</ref> The PFLP and the [[Japanese Red Army]] carried out a [[Lod Airport massacre|shooting rampage at the same airport]], killing twenty-four civilians.<ref name="PLO terrorist attacks"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Sontag|first=Deborah|title=2 Who Share a Past Are Rivals for Israel's Future|work=The New York Times|pages=Section A, Page 3, Column 1|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/20/world/2-who-share-a-past-are-rivals-for-israel-s-future.html|date=20 April 1999}}</ref> Israel later claimed that the assassination of PFLP spokesman [[Ghassan Kanafani]] was a response to the PFLP's involvement in masterminding the latter attack. Two days later, various PLO factions retaliated by bombing a bus station, killing eleven civilians.<ref name="PLO terrorist attacks"/>

At the [[1972 Summer Olympics|Munich Olympic Games]], Black September kidnapped and killed eleven Israeli athletes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Klein|first=Aaron|author-link=Aaron Klein|title=Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response|url=https://archive.org/details/strikingback197200klei|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Random House|location=New York|isbn=978-1-920769-80-2}}</ref> A number of sources, including [[Abu Daoud|Mohammed Oudeh]] (''Abu Daoud''), one of the masterminds of the [[Munich massacre]], and [[Benny Morris]], a prominent Israeli historian, have stated that Black September was an armed branch of Fatah used for paramilitary operations. According to Abu Daoud's 1999 book, "Arafat was briefed on plans for the Munich hostage-taking."<ref>{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Berger|title=Munich Massacre Remembered|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/munich-massacre-remembered/|publisher=CBS News|date=5 September 2002|access-date=17 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021012090125/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/05/world/main520865.shtml|archive-date=12 October 2002|url-status=live}}</ref> The killings were internationally condemned. In 1973–74, Arafat closed Black September down, ordering the PLO to withdraw from acts of violence outside Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.<ref>{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Benny|author-link=Benny Morris|title=Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–2001|year=2001|publisher=Vintage Books|page=[https://archive.org/details/righteousvictims00morr_0/page/383 383]|isbn=978-0-679-74475-7|url=https://archive.org/details/righteousvictims00morr_0/page/383}}</ref>

In 1974, the PNC approved the [[PLO's Ten Point Program|Ten Point Program]] (drawn up by Arafat and his advisers), and proposed a compromise with the Israelis. It called for a Palestinian national authority over every part of "liberated" Palestinian territory,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/palestine/cache/offonce/pid/12354;jsessionid=704B7796CCBC72ACC579828A2197F8B9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128140355/http://www.un.int/wcm/content/site/palestine/cache/offonce/pid/12354%3Bjsessionid%3D704B7796CCBC72ACC579828A2197F8B9 |archive-date=28 January 2012 |title=Political Program Adopted at the 12th Session of the Palestine National Council |publisher=Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations |date=8 June 1974 |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which refers to areas captured by Arab forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War (present-day West Bank, [[East Jerusalem]] and Gaza Strip). This caused discontent among several of the PLO factions; the PFLP, DFLP and other parties formed a breakaway organization, the [[Rejectionist Front]].<ref name="Recognition">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/140 140–142]}}</ref>

Israel and the US have alleged also that Arafat was involved in the [[1973 Khartoum diplomatic assassinations]], in which five diplomats and five others were killed. A 1973 [[United States Department of State]] document, declassified in 2006, concluded "The Khartoum operation was planned and carried out with the full knowledge and personal approval of Yasser Arafat."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/67584.pdf|title=The Seizure of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum|publisher=U.S. Department of State|date=4 May 2006|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=7867&dt=2472&dl=1345 |title=William Rogers to the Embassy at Fort Lamy |date=13 March 1973 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113225326/https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=7867&dt=2472&dl=1345 |archive-date=13 November 2011 |access-date=18 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Arafat denied any involvement in the operation and insisted it was carried out independently by the Black September Organization. Israel claimed that Arafat was in ultimate control over these organizations and therefore had not abandoned terrorism.<ref name=Rejectionists>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/252 252–261]}}</ref>

In addition, some circles within the US State Department viewed Arafat as an able diplomat and negotiator who could get support from many Arab governments at once. An example of that, we find in March 1973 that Arafat tried to arrange for a meeting between the President of Iraq and the Emir of Kuwait in order to resolve their disputes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=19031&dt=2472&dl=1345 |title='Arafat's "Mediation" Between Iraq and Kuwait |publisher=US Embassy in Beirut |date=4 April 1973 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113223636/https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=19031&dt=2472&dl=1345 |archive-date=13 November 2011 |access-date=18 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Also in 1974, the PLO was declared the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" and admitted to full membership of the Arab League at the [[1974 Arab League summit|Rabat Summit]].<ref name="Recognition"/> Arafat became the first representative of a non-governmental organization to address a [[plenary session]] of the [[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]]. In his United Nations address, Arafat condemned Zionism, but said:

{{cquote|Today I have come bearing an olive branch in one hand and a freedom fighter's rifle in another. Do not let the green branch fall from my hand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/A238EC7A3E13EED18525624A007697EC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208084101/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/A238EC7A3E13EED18525624A007697EC |archive-date=8 February 2012 |title=PLENARY MEETING Wednesday, 13 November 1974 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=5 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

He wore a [[holster]] throughout his speech, although it did not contain a gun.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19771217&id=tpcuAAAAIBAJ&pg=2722,497603|title=Five Minutes to Midnight|work=The Gazette (Montreal)|date=17 December 1977|access-date=5 July 2012|author=Nichols, Mark}} "All Yasser Arafat had in his holster at the UN was a pair of dark glasses."</ref><ref name="'70s 319">{{cite book|title=How We Got Here: The '70s|last=Frum|first=David|author-link=David Frum|year=2000|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-465-04195-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/319 319–320]|url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/319}}</ref> His speech increased international sympathy for the Palestinian cause.<ref name="Recognition"/>

Following recognition, Arafat established relationships with a variety of world leaders, including [[Saddam Hussein]] and [[Idi Amin]]. Arafat was Amin's best man at his wedding in [[Uganda]] in 1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/aug/04/ukcrime.sandralaville|title=Big Daddy's boy: Idi Amin's son jailed in Britain over Somali gang murder|first1=Sandra|last1=Laville|newspaper=The Guardian |date=3 August 2007 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2003/04/14/biographical-focus-idi-amin/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619152021/http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2003/04/14/biographical-focus-idi-amin/|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 June 2006|title=Biographical Focus: Idi Amin|date=14 April 2003}}</ref>

===Fatah involvement in Lebanese Civil War===
{{See also|Lebanese Civil War|Battle of Tripoli (1983)}}
[[File:Arafat in Lebanon.jpg|thumb|upright|Arafat in a Palestinian refugee camp in [[Southern Lebanon]], 1978]]

Although hesitant at first to take sides in the conflict, Arafat and Fatah played an important role in the [[Lebanese Civil War]]. Succumbing to pressure from PLO sub-groups such as the PFLP, DFLP and the [[Palestinian Liberation Front]] (PLF), Arafat aligned the PLO with the Communist and [[Nasserism|Nasserist]] [[Lebanese National Movement]] (LNM). The LNM was led by [[Kamal Jumblatt]], who had a friendly relationship with Arafat and other PLO leaders. Although originally aligned with Fatah, [[List of Presidents of Syria|Syrian President]] [[Hafez al-Assad]] feared a loss of influence in Lebanon and switched sides. He sent his army, along with the Syrian-backed Palestinian factions of [[as-Sa'iqa]] and the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command]] (PFLP-GC) led by [[Ahmad Jibril]] to fight alongside right-wing Christian forces against the PLO and the LNM. The primary components of the Christian front were the [[Kataeb Party|Phalangists]] loyal to [[Bachir Gemayel]] and the [[Tigers Militia (Lebanon)|Tigers Militia]] led by [[Dany Chamoun]], a son of former President [[Camille Chamoun]].<ref name="Lebanese Civil War">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/150 150–175]}}</ref>

In February 1975, a pro-Palestinian Lebanese MP, [[Maarouf Saad]], was shot and killed, reportedly by the [[Lebanese Army]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Bassil A. |last=Mardelli |title=Middle East Perspectives: From Lebanon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JN24YPHPibQC&q=Maaruf+Saad |publisher=iUniverse |year=2012 |isbn=9781475906721 |page=260}}</ref> His death from his wounds, the following month, and the [[Bus massacre|massacre in April]] of 27 Palestinians and Lebanese travelling on a bus from [[Shatila refugee camp|Sabra and Shatila]] to the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp by Phalangist forces precipitated the Lebanese Civil War.<ref name="Chomsky">{{cite book|title=''The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians''|first=Noam |last=Chomsky|year=1999|publisher=[[South End Press]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/fatefultriangleu0000chom_j7d0/page/184 184]|isbn=978-0-89608-601-2|author-link=Noam Chomsky|url=https://archive.org/details/fatefultriangleu0000chom_j7d0}}</ref> Arafat was reluctant to respond with force, but many other Fatah and PLO members felt otherwise.<ref name="Sayigh"/> For example, the DFLP carried out several attacks against the [[Lebanese Army]]. In 1976, an alliance of Christian militias with the backing of the Lebanese and [[Syrian Army|Syrian]] armies besieged Tel al-Zaatar camp in east [[Beirut]].<ref name="LAA">{{cite web|url=http://www.laa.org/tours/thewar.htm |title=The Civil War... 1975, Regional Intervention |publisher=The Lebanese-American Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980205063801/http://www.laa.org/tours/thewar.htm |archive-date=5 February 1998}}</ref><ref name="Harris">{{cite book|last=Harris|first=William|title=Faces of Lebanon. Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions|url=https://archive.org/details/facesoflebanonse0000harr/page/162|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers|pages=[https://archive.org/details/facesoflebanonse0000harr/page/162 162–165]|isbn=978-1-55876-115-5}}</ref> The PLO and LNM retaliated by attacking the town of [[Damour massacre|Damour]], a Phalangist stronghold where they massacred 684 people and wounded many more.<ref name="LAA"/><ref name = "Nisan, 2003">{{harvnb|Nisan|2003}}</ref> The [[Tel al-Zaatar massacre|Tel al-Zaatar camp fell]] to the Christians after a six-month siege in which thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed.<ref>{{cite book |title=Faces of Lebanon. Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions |pages=162–165 |first=William |last=Harris |quote=Perhaps 3,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, died in the siege and its aftermath.}}<br/>This source states that 2,000 were killed: {{Cite web
|title=Lebanese war chronology 1975–1990|url=https://www.111101.net/facts/history/chronology/index.html?https://www.111101.net/facts/history/chronology/phase.php?year=1976|access-date=12 February 2023|website=111101.net}}</ref> Arafat and Abu Jihad blamed themselves for not successfully organizing a rescue effort.<ref name="Lebanese Civil War"/>

[[File:Arafat Darwish Habash.jpg|thumb|Arafat with Palestinian poet [[Mahmoud Darwish]] (center) and PFLP leader [[George Habash]] (right) in [[Syria]], 1980]]

PLO cross-border raids against Israel grew during the late 1970s. One of the most severe—known as the [[Coastal Road massacre]]—occurred on 11 March 1978. A force of nearly a dozen Fatah fighters landed their boats near a major coastal road connecting the city of [[Haifa]] with [[Tel Aviv-Yafo]]. There they hijacked a bus and sprayed gunfire inside and at passing vehicles, killing thirty-seven civilians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1977-1979/133%20Statement%20to%20the%20press%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Begin|title=133 Statement to the press by Prime Minister Begin on the massacre of Israelis on the Haifa – Tel Aviv Road|date=12 March 1978|publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040815085643/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1977-1979/133%20Statement%20to%20the%20press%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Begin|archive-date=15 August 2004|access-date=9 October 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> In response, the IDF launched [[1978 South Lebanon conflict|Operation Litani]] three days later, with the goal of taking control of Southern Lebanon up to the [[Litani River]]. The IDF achieved this goal, and Arafat withdrew PLO forces north into Beirut.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14649284 |title=Time Line: Lebanon: Israel Controls South |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=9 October 2007 |access-date=9 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015140706/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/819200.stm |archive-date=15 October 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Sabaghian Bazargan Arafat Sahabi.jpg|thumb|left|Arafat with [[Prime Minister of Iran|Iranian Prime Minister]] [[Mehdi Bazargan]], days after [[Iranian Revolution]]]]

After Israel withdrew from Lebanon, cross-border hostilities between PLO forces and Israel continued, though from August 1981 to May 1982, the PLO adopted an official policy of refraining from responding to provocations.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Noam Chomsky |first=Noam |last=Chomsky |title=Fatal Triangle |date=1999 |page=346}}</ref> On 6 June 1982, Israel launched [[1982 Lebanon War|an invasion of Lebanon]] to expel the PLO from southern Lebanon. [[Siege of Beirut|Beirut was soon besieged]] and bombarded by the IDF;<ref name="Lebanese Civil War"/> Arafat declared the city to be the "[[Hanoi]] and [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] of the Israeli army."<ref name="Lebanese Civil War"/> The Civil War's first phase ended and Arafat—who was commanding Fatah forces at Tel al-Zaatar—narrowly escaped with assistance from Saudi and Kuwaiti diplomats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liberty05.com/civilwar/civil1.html|title=The Battle of Tel al-Zaatar|website=Liberty 05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509054943/http://www.liberty05.com/civilwar/civil1.html|archive-date=9 May 2006|access-date=25 August 2007|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Towards the end of the siege, the US and European governments brokered an agreement guaranteeing safe passage for Arafat and the PLO—guarded by a multinational force of eight hundred [[United States Marine Corps|US Marines]] supported by the [[United States Navy]]—to exile in [[Tunis]].<ref name="Lebanese Civil War"/>

During the war, Arafat took measures to protect the Lebanese Jewish community.<ref name="Starr2021">{{Cite web |last=Starr |first=Paul |date=24 November 2021 |title=Lebanese Jew Reached Out to Arafat to Protect Synagogue |url=https://jewishjournal.com/judaism/obituaries/342683/lebanese-jew-reached-out-to-arafat-to-protect-synagogue/ |access-date=18 October 2024 |website=Jewish Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> He ordered the PLO fighters to guard the [[Maghen Abraham Synagogue]] of Beirut and deliver food to affected Jewish families.<ref name="Starr2021" /> After Arafat left Lebanon, the synagogue's protection went in hands of [[Kataeb Party|Phalangists]].<ref name="Starr2021" />

Arafat returned to Lebanon a year after his eviction from Beirut, this time establishing himself in the northern Lebanese city of [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]]. This time Arafat was expelled by a fellow Palestinian working under [[Hafez al-Assad]]. Arafat did not return to Lebanon after his second expulsion, though many Fatah fighters did.<ref name="Lebanese Civil War" />

==Headquarters in Tunisia==
Arafat and Fatah's center for operations was based in Tunis, the capital of [[Tunisia]], until 1993. In 1985 Arafat narrowly survived an Israeli assassination attempt when [[Israeli Air Force]] [[F-15E Strike Eagle|F-15s]] bombed his Tunis headquarters as part of [[Operation Wooden Leg]], leaving 73 people dead; Arafat had gone out jogging that morning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1984-1988/92%20Press%20Conference%20Following%20Israel%20Air%20Force%20Att|title=92 Press Conference Following Israel Air Force Attack on PLO base in Tunis|publisher=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date=1 November 1985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311051911/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1984-1988/92%20Press%20Conference%20Following%20Israel%20Air%20Force%20Att|archive-date=11 March 2007|access-date=25 August 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year Arafat had his operational headquarters in [[Baghdad]] for some time.<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 289, 5 December 1986; Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Jim Muir]] pp.10–11; No 291, 9 January 1987; Jim Muir pp.3–4</ref>

===First Intifada===
During the 1980s, Arafat received financial assistance from Libya, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which allowed him to reconstruct the badly damaged PLO. This was particularly useful during the [[First Intifada]] in December 1987, which began as an uprising of Palestinians against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The word ''Intifada'' in Arabic is literally translated as "tremor"; however, it is generally defined as an uprising or revolt.<ref name="Intifada">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/201 201–228]}}</ref>

The first stage of the Intifada began following an incident at the [[Erez Crossing|Erez checkpoint]] where four Palestinian residents of the [[Jabalya refugee camp]] were killed in a traffic accident involving an Israeli driver. Rumors spread that the deaths were a deliberate act of revenge for an Israeli shopper who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian in Gaza four days earlier. Mass rioting broke out, and within weeks, partly upon consistent requests by Abu Jihad, Arafat attempted to direct the uprising, which lasted until 1992–93. Abu Jihad had previously been assigned the responsibility of the Palestinian territories within the PLO command and, according to biographer [[Said Aburish]], had "impressive knowledge of local conditions" in the [[Israeli-occupied territories]]. On 16 April 1988, as the Intifada was raging, Abu Jihad was [[Tunis Raid|assassinated in his Tunis household]] by an Israeli hit squad.<ref>{{cite web | last=Press | first=Associated | title=Israel acknowledges killing Palestinian deputy in 1988 raid | website=the Guardian | date=2012-11-01 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/01/israel-acknowledges-killing-palestinian-deputy | access-date=2025-06-01}}</ref> Arafat had considered Abu Jihad as a PLO counterweight to local Palestinian leadership in the territories, and led a funeral procession for him in [[Damascus]].<ref name="Intifada"/>

The most common tactic used by Palestinians during the Intifada was throwing stones, [[molotov cocktails]], and [[burning tires]].<ref>{{citation |title=An Analysis of the Strategies and Tactics of the Palestinians and Israelis |author=Ron, Jonathan |publisher=[[Tufts University]]}}</ref> The local leadership in some West Bank towns commenced non-violent protests against Israeli occupation by engaging in [[Beit Sahour#Tax resistance|tax resistance]] and other boycotts. Israel responded by confiscating large sums of money in house-to-house raids.<ref name="Intifada"/><ref>{{citation |title=A Matter of Justice: Tax Resistance in Beit Sahour-Nonviolent Sanctions |publisher=Albert Einstein Institution |date=Spring–Summer 1992}}</ref> As the Intifada came to a close, new armed Palestinian groups—in particular [[Hamas]] and the [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] (PIJ)—began targeting Israeli civilians with the new tactic of [[List of Palestinian suicide attacks|suicide bombing]]s, and internal fighting amongst the Palestinians increased dramatically.<ref name="Intifada"/>

===Change in direction===

In August 1970, Arafat declared: "Our basic aim is to liberate the land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. We are not concerned with what took place in June 1967 or in eliminating the consequences of the June war. The Palestinian revolution's basic concern is the uprooting of the Zionist entity from our land and liberating it."<ref>{{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=Martin|author-link=Martin Gilbert|title=Israel: a history|publisher=Doubleday|year=1998|isbn=978-0-385-40401-3|page=418}}</ref> However, in early 1976, at a meeting with US Senator [[Adlai Stevenson III]], Arafat suggested that if Israel withdrew a "few kilometers" from parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and transferred responsibility to the UN, Arafat could give "something to show his people before he could acknowledge Israel's right to exist".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://al-shabaka.org/sites/default/files/Khalil_PolicyBrief_MurphyToKissinger24Feb1976.pdf|title=Margaret P. Grafeld Declassified/Released US Department of State EO Systematic Review|date=4 May 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908061115/http://al-shabaka.org/sites/default/files/Khalil_PolicyBrief_MurphyToKissinger24Feb1976.pdf|archive-date=8 September 2013}}</ref>

On 15 November 1988, the PLO proclaimed the independent [[History of the State of Palestine|State of Palestine]]. Though he had frequently been accused of and associated with terrorism,<ref>{{cite book|title=20:21 Vision: Twentieth-Century Lessons for the Twenty-First Century|first=Bill|last=Emmott|author-link=Bill Emmott|publisher=Macmillan|year=2004|page=151}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Witnessing for Peace|first1=Munib|last1=Younan|author-link1=Munib Younan|first2=Frederick M.|last2=Strickert|publisher=[[Fortress Press]]|year=2003|page=111}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The West's last chance|first=Tony|last=Blankley|author-link=Tony Blankley|publisher=[[Regnery Publishing]]|year=2005|page=77}}</ref> in speeches on 13 and 14 December Arafat repudiated 'terrorism in all its forms, including [[state terrorism]]'. He accepted [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 242|UN Security Council Resolution 242]] and Israel's right "to exist in peace and security" and<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mondediplo.com/focus/mideast/arafat88-en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119053745/http://mondediplo.com/focus/mideast/arafat88-en|archive-date=19 January 2012|title=Yasser Arafat, Speech at UN General Assembly Geneva, General Assembly 13 December 1988|work=[[Le Monde diplomatique]]|date=13 December 1988|access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref> Arafat's statements were greeted with approval by the US administration, which had long insisted on these statements as a necessary starting point for official discussions between the US and the PLO. These remarks from Arafat indicated a shift away from one of the PLO's primary aims—the destruction of Israel (as entailed in the [[Palestinian National Covenant]])–and toward the establishment of two separate entities: an Israeli state within the 1949 armistice lines, and an Arab state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On 2 April 1989, Arafat was elected by the Central Council of the Palestine National Council, the governing body of the PLO, to be the president of the proclaimed State of Palestine.<ref name="Intifada"/>

Prior to the [[Gulf War]] in 1990–91, when the Intifada's intensity began to wear down, Arafat supported [[Saddam Hussein]]'s invasion of [[Kuwait]] and opposed the US-led coalition attack on Iraq. He made this decision without the consent of other leading members of Fatah and the PLO. Arafat's top aide Abu Iyad vowed to stay neutral and opposed an alliance with Saddam; on 17 January 1991, Abu Iyad was assassinated by the [[Abu Nidal|Abu Nidal Organization]]. Arafat's decision also severed relations with Egypt and many of the oil-producing Arab states that supported the US-led coalition. Many in the US also used Arafat's position as a reason to disregard his claims to being a partner for peace. After the end of hostilities, many Arab states that backed the coalition cut off funds to the PLO and began providing financial support for the organization's rival Hamas and other Islamist groups.<ref name="Intifada"/> Arafat narrowly escaped death again on 7 April 1992, when an [[Air Bissau]] aircraft he was a passenger on crash-landed in the [[Libyan Desert]] during a sandstorm. Two pilots and an engineer were killed; Arafat was bruised and shaken.<ref>{{cite news|title=Timeline: Yasser Arafat|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,136880,00.html|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=[[Fox News]]|date=8 February 2005|access-date=27 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804051541/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,136880,00.html|archive-date=4 August 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Palestinian Authority and peace negotiations==
{{further|Palestinian views on the peace process#Yasser Arafat and the PLO}}

===Oslo Accords===
[[File:Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat at the White House 1993-09-13.jpg|thumb|[[Yitzhak Rabin]], [[Bill Clinton]], and Arafat during the [[Oslo Accords]] on 13 September 1993]]
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATES FOR 1994 IN OSLO..jpg|thumb|right|Arafat, [[Shimon Peres]] and Rabin receiving the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] following the [[Oslo Accords]], 10 December 1994]]

In the early 1990s, Arafat and leading Fatah officials engaged the Israeli government in a series of secret talks and negotiations that led to the [[Oslo Accords|1993 Oslo Accords]].<ref name="Rejectionists"/><ref name="Palestinian peace">{{cite book|last=Carter|first=James|author-link=Jimmy Carter|title=Palestine Peace Not Apartheid|url=https://archive.org/details/palestinepeaceno00cart|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/palestinepeaceno00cart/page/147 147]–150|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7432-8502-5}}</ref> The agreement called for the implementation of Palestinian self-rule in portions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five-year period, along with an immediate halt to and gradual removal of Israeli settlements in those areas. The accords called for a Palestinian police force to be formed from local recruits and Palestinians abroad, to patrol areas of self-rule. Authority over the various fields of rule, including education and culture, [[social welfare provision|social welfare]], [[direct tax]]ation and tourism, would be transferred to the Palestinian interim government. Both parties agreed also on forming a committee that would establish cooperation and coordination dealing with specific economic sectors, including utilities, industry, trade and communication.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/gazajer.html|title=Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area|access-date=17 June 2024|date=4 May 1994|publisher=The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise |website=Jewish Virtual Library}}</ref>

Prior to signing the accords, Arafat—as Chairman of the PLO and its official representative—signed two letters renouncing violence and officially recognizing Israel. In return, Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]], on behalf of Israel, officially recognized the PLO.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/nea/rls/22579.htm|title=Israel-PLO Recognition: Exchange of Letters Between PM Rabin and Chairman Arafat|access-date=17 June 2024|date=3 September 1993|publisher=U.S. State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs}}</ref> The following year, Arafat and Rabin were awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]], along with [[Shimon Peres]].<ref name="Oslo Accords">{{cite news|title=1994: Israelis and Arafat share peace prize|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/14/newsid_3694000/3694744.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=3 September 1993|access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref> The Palestinian reaction was mixed. The [[Rejectionist Front]] of the PLO allied itself with Islamists in a common opposition against the agreements. It was rejected also by [[Palestinian refugee]]s in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan as well as by many Palestinian intellectuals and the local leadership of the Palestinian territories. However, the inhabitants of the territories generally accepted the agreements and Arafat's promise for peace and economic well-being.<ref name="After Oslo">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/262 262–292]}}</ref>

===Establishing authority in the territories===
In accordance with the terms of the Oslo agreement, Arafat was required to implement PLO authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He insisted that financial support was imperative to establishing this authority and needed it to secure the acceptance of the agreements by the Palestinians living in those areas. However, [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]]—Arafat's usual source for financial backing—still refused to provide him and the PLO with any major donations for siding with Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War.<ref name="After Oslo"/> [[Ahmed Qurei]]—a key Fatah negotiator during the negotiations in Oslo—publicly announced that the PLO was bankrupt.<ref>{{cite book|last=Heikal|first=Mohammed|author-link=Mohamed Hassanein Heikal|title=Secret Channels|year=1996|publisher=HarperCollins Publishing|page=479|isbn=978-0-00-638337-6}}</ref>

In 1994, Arafat moved to [[Gaza City]], which was controlled by the [[Palestinian National Authority]] (PNA)—the provisional entity created by the [[Oslo Accords]].<ref name="Oslo Accords"/> Arafat became the [[President of the Palestinian National Authority|President]] and [[Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority|Prime Minister]] of the PNA, the Commander of the [[Palestine Liberation Army|PLA]] and the [[Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council|Speaker]] of the [[Palestinian Legislative Council|PLC]]. In July, after the PNA was declared the official government of the Palestinians, the [[Constitution of Palestine|Basic Laws of the Palestinian National Authority]] was published,<ref>[[s:Constitution of Palestine (1994)|Constitution of Palestine (1994)]] [[Wikisource]] 26 July 2006. Accessed on17 June 2024.</ref> in three different versions by the PLO. Arafat proceeded with creating a structure for the PNA. He established an [[PLO Executive Committee|executive committee]] or cabinet composed of twenty members. Arafat also replaced and assigned mayors and city councils for major cities such as Gaza and [[Nablus]]. He began subordinating non-governmental organizations that worked in education, health, and social affairs under his authority by replacing their elected leaders and directors with PNA officials loyal to him. He then appointed himself chairman of the Palestinian financial organization that was created by the [[World Bank]] to control most aid money towards helping the new Palestinian entity.<ref name="After Oslo"/>

Arafat appointed [[Moshe Hirsch]] as the Minister of Jewish Affairs in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 May 2010 |title=Former Palestinian Jewish Minister Hirsch dies |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/05/02/107512 |access-date=27 November 2024 |website=Al Arabiya English |language=en}}</ref> Arafat established a Palestinian police force, named the [[Preventive Security Service]] (PSS), that became active on 13 May 1994. It was mainly composed of PLA soldiers and foreign Palestinian volunteers. Arafat assigned [[Mohammed Dahlan]] and [[Jibril Rajoub]] to head the PSS.<ref name="After Oslo"/> [[Amnesty International]] accused Arafat and the PNA leadership of failing to adequately investigate abuses by the PSS (including torture and unlawful killings) against political opponents and dissidents as well as the arrests of human rights activists.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chaos of Corruption, Challenges for the improvement of the Palestinian Society: VI. PA security service, 1. Abuses, torture and infringements of the law|first=Fabio|last=Forgione|url=http://www.phrmg.org/Corruption%20in%20the%20Palestinian%20Authority.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111224551/http://www.phrmg.org/Corruption%20in%20the%20Palestinian%20Authority.htm|archive-date=11 January 2008|publisher=The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG)|date=October 2004|access-date=4 November 2007}}</ref>

Throughout November and December 1995, Arafat toured dozens of Palestinian cities and towns that were evacuated by Israeli forces including [[Jenin]], Ramallah, [[al-Bireh]], Nablus, [[Qalqilyah]] and [[Tulkarm]], declaring them "liberated". The PNA also gained control of the West Bank's [[Postage stamps and postal history of the Palestinian National Authority|postal service]] during this period.<ref name="PASSIA">{{cite web|title=Palestine Facts: 1994–1995 |url=http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/chronology/19941995.htm |publisher=[[Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]] (PASSIA) |access-date=15 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729174648/http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/chronology/19941995.htm |archive-date=29 July 2013 }}</ref> On 20 January 1996, Arafat was elected president of the PNA, with an overwhelming 88.2 percent majority (the other candidate was charity organizer [[Samiha Khalil]]). However, because [[Hamas]], the DFLP and other popular opposition movements chose to boycott the presidential elections, the choices were limited. Arafat's landslide victory guaranteed Fatah 51 of the 88 seats in the PLC. After Arafat was elected to the post of President of the PNA, he was often referred to as the ''Ra'is'', (literally president in Arabic), although he spoke of himself as "the general".<ref>{{cite news|title=Obituary: Yasir Arafat, Palestinian Leader, Dies at 75|first=Judith|last=Miller|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/10/international/middleeast/10WIRE-ARAFAT.html?pagewanted=print&position=|work=The New York Times|date=10 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>
In 1997, the PLC accused the executive branch of the PNA of financial mismanagement causing the resignation of four members of Arafat's cabinet. Arafat refused to resign his post.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/293 293–320]}}</ref>

===Other peace agreements===
[[File:Yasser-arafat-1999-3.jpg|thumb|right|Arafat with PNA cabinet members [[Yasser Abed Rabbo]] (left) and [[Nabil Shaath]] (right) at a meeting in [[Copenhagen]], 1999]]

In mid-1996, [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] was [[1996 Israeli prime ministerial election|elected]] [[Prime Minister of Israel]]. Palestinian-Israeli relations grew even more hostile as a result of continued conflict.<ref>{{cite news|title=Profile: Binyamin Netanyahu|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2393677.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=20 December 2005 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> Despite the Israel-PLO accord, Netanyahu opposed the idea of Palestinian statehood.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hardliners Gain Around Likud Vote|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2558451.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=9 December 2002|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> In 1998, US President [[Bill Clinton]] persuaded the two leaders to meet. The resulting [[Wye River Memorandum]] detailed the steps to be taken by the Israeli government and PNA to complete the peace process.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/process/docs/wye_eng.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010715073548/https://www.knesset.gov.il/process/docs/wye_eng.htm|archive-date=15 July 2001|title=The Wye River Memorandum|access-date=24 August 2007|date=23 October 1998|publisher=The State of Israel (Translated from Hebrew)}}</ref>

[[File:President Bill Clinton with Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority.jpg|thumb|left|Arafat with [[Ehud Barak]] and Bill Clinton at [[2000 Camp David Summit|Camp David Summit]], 2000]]

Arafat continued negotiations with Netanyahu's successor, [[Ehud Barak]], at the [[Camp David 2000 Summit]] in July 2000. Due partly to his own politics (Barak was from the leftist [[Labor Party (Israel)|Labor Party]], whereas Netanyahu was from the [[Right-wing politics|rightist]] [[Likud]] Party) and partly due to insistence for compromise by President Clinton, Barak offered Arafat a Palestinian state in 73 percent of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian percentage of sovereignty would extend to 90 percent over a ten- to twenty-five-year period. Also included in the offer was the return of a small number of refugees and compensation for those not allowed to return. Palestinians would also have "custodianship" over [[Al-Aqsa]], sovereignty on all Islamic and Christian holy sites, and three of Jerusalem's four Old City quarters. Arafat rejected Barak's offer and refused to make an immediate counter-offer.<ref name="Palestinian peace"/> He told President Clinton that, "the Arab leader who would surrender Jerusalem is not born yet."<ref name="Arafat Timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.passia.org/Arafat/Arafat.pdf|title=Yasser Arafat (1929–2004)|date=11 December 2004|publisher=PASSIA|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229043817/http://www.passia.org/Arafat/Arafat.pdf|archive-date=29 February 2012}}</ref>

After the September 2000 outbreak of the [[Second Intifada]], negotiations continued at the [[Taba summit]] in January 2001; this time, Ehud Barak pulled out of the talks to campaign in the Israeli elections. In October and December 2001, [[List of Palestinian suicide attacks|suicide bombings by Palestinian militant groups]] increased and Israeli counter strikes intensified. Following the election of [[Ariel Sharon]] in February, the peace process took a steep downfall. Palestinian elections scheduled for January 2002 were postponed—the stated reason was an inability to campaign due to the emergency conditions imposed by the Intifada, as well as IDF incursions and restrictions on [[freedom of movement]] in the Palestinian territories. In the same month, Sharon ordered Arafat to be confined to his [[Arafat's Compound|Mukata'a]] headquarters in [[Ramallah]], following an attack in the Israeli city of [[Hadera]];<ref name="Arafat Timeline"/> US President [[George W. Bush]] supported Sharon's action, claiming that Arafat was "an obstacle to the peace."<ref>{{cite news|title=Mid-East press reflects on Arafat legacy|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4002497.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=5 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

==Political survival==
[[File:Yassir Arafat.ogv|thumb|right|thumbtime=0:09|Footage of Arafat speaking and meeting international leaders]]
Arafat's long personal and political survival was taken by most Western commentators as a sign of his mastery of [[asymmetric warfare]] and his skill as a tactician, given the extremely dangerous nature of politics of the Middle East and the frequency of assassinations.<ref name="From Defender to Dictator">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/321 321–325]}}</ref> Some commentators believe his survival was largely due to Israel's fear that he could become a [[martyr]] for the Palestinian cause if he were assassinated or even arrested by Israel.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,781566-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041113105711/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,781566-2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 November 2004|title=A Life in Retrospect: Yasser Arafat|first=Lisa|last=Beyer|author-link=Lisa Beyer|page=2|access-date=24 August 2007|date=12 November 2004|magazine=Time}}</ref> Others believe that Israel refrained from taking action against Arafat because it feared Arafat less than [[Hamas]] and the other Islamist movements gaining support over Fatah. The complex and fragile web of relations between the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab states contributed also to Arafat's longevity as the leader of the Palestinians.<ref name="From Defender to Dictator"/>

Israel attempted to assassinate Arafat on a number of occasions, but has never used its own agents, preferring instead to "turn" Palestinians close to the intended target, usually using blackmail.<ref name=Hartp27>{{harvnb|Hart|1989|page=[https://archive.org/details/arafatpoliticalb00hart/page/27 27]}}</ref> According to Alan Hart, the Mossad's specialty is poison.<ref name=Hartp27/> According to Abu Iyad, two attempts were made on Arafat's life by the Israeli Mossad and the Military Directorate in 1970.<ref name=Hartp320>{{harvnb|Hart|1989|page=[https://archive.org/details/arafatpoliticalb00hart/page/320 320]}}</ref> In 1976, Abu Sa'ed, a Palestinian agent working for the Mossad, was enlisted in a plot to put poison pellets that looked like grains of rice in Arafat's food. Abu Iyad explains that Abu Sa'ed confessed after he received the order to go ahead, explaining that he was unable to go through with the plot because, "He was first of all a Palestinian and his conscience wouldn't let him do it."<ref name=Hartp429>{{harvnb|Hart|1989|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatpoliticalb00hart/page/429 429]–430}}</ref> Arafat claimed in a 1988 interview with ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' that because of his fear of assassination by the Israelis, he never slept in the same place two nights in a row.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968859,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126171152/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968859,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 November 2010|title=Interview: with Yasser Arafat: Knowing the Enemy |last1=Prager |first1=Karsten |author2=Murray J. Gart |author3=Yasser Arafat |access-date=30 January 2010|date=7 November 1988|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref>

===Relations with Hamas and other militant groups===
Arafat's ability to adapt to new tactical and political situations was perhaps tested by the rise of the Hamas and [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad|PIJ]] organizations, Islamist groups espousing [[Rejectionist Front|rejectionist]] policies with Israel. These groups often bombed non-military targets, such as malls and movie theaters, to increase the psychological damage and civilian casualties. In the 1990s, these groups seemed to threaten Arafat's capacity to hold together a unified nationalist organization with a goal of statehood.<ref name="From Defender to Dictator"/>

An attack carried out by Hamas militants in March 2002 killed 29 Israeli civilians celebrating [[Passover]], including many senior citizens.<ref>{{cite news|title=Al-Aqsa Intifada timeline: 2002|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3677206.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=29 September 2004|access-date=17 June 2024 }}</ref> In response, Israel launched [[Operation Defensive Shield]], a major military offensive into major [[List of cities in the West Bank|West Bank cities]]. [[Mahmoud al-Zahar]], a Hamas leader in Gaza, stated in September 2010 that Arafat had instructed Hamas to launch what he termed "military operations" against Israel in 2000 when Arafat felt that negotiations with Israel would not succeed.<ref>{{ cite news
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101008232514/http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=189574
| archive-date= 8 October 2010
| url-status= dead
| url= https://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=189574 
| first=Khaled |last=Abu Toameh
| title=Arafat ordered Hamas attacks against Israel in 2000
| work= The Jerusalem Post
| date= 29 September 2010
| quote=This was the first time that a senior Hamas official disclosed that some of the Hamas suicide bombings during the second intifada, which erupted 10 years ago, were ordered by Arafat. Until now it was widely believed that Arafat had only ordered his Fatah militiamen to carry out terror attacks on Israel.}}</ref>

Some Israeli government officials opined in 2002 that the armed Fatah sub-group [[al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades]] commenced attacks towards Israel in order to compete with Hamas.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jeremy|last=Bowen|author-link=Jeremy Bowen|title=Palestinian Authority funds go to militants|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3243071.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=7 November 2003|access-date=17 June 2024 }}</ref> On 6 May 2002, the Israeli government released a report, based in part on documents, allegedly captured during the Israeli raid of Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, which allegedly included copies of papers signed by Arafat authorizing funding for al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' activities. The report implicated Arafat in the "planning and execution of terror attacks".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Terrorism/Palestinian/Pages/The%20Involvement%20of%20Arafat-%20PA%20Senior%20Officials%20and.aspx|title=The Involvement of Arafat, PA Senior Officials and Apparatuses in Terrorism against Israel- Corruption and Crime|first=Dani|last=Naveh|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs – The State of Israel|date=6 May 2002|access-date=5 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121114246/http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/Terrorism/Palestinian/Pages/The%20Involvement%20of%20Arafat-%20PA%20Senior%20Officials%20and.aspx|archive-date=21 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Attempts to marginalize===
Persistent attempts by the Israeli government to identify another Palestinian leader to represent the Palestinian people failed. Arafat was enjoying the support of groups that, given his own history, would normally have been quite wary of dealing with or supporting him. [[Marwan Barghouti]] (a leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades) emerged as a possible replacement during the Second Intifada, but Israel had him arrested for allegedly being involved in the killing of twenty-six civilians, and he was sentenced to five life terms.<ref>{{cite news |title=Profile: Marwan Barghouti |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13628771 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=20 May 2004 |access-date=17 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040611150405/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1473585.stm |archive-date=11 June 2004 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Arafat was finally allowed to leave his compound on 2 May 2002 after intense negotiations led to a settlement: six PFLP militants, including the organization's secretary-general [[Ahmad Sa'adat]], wanted by Israel, who had been holed up with Arafat in his compound, would be transferred to international custody in [[Jericho]]. After the wanted men were handed over the siege was lifted.<ref>{{Cite web|date= 1 May 2002
|title=Arafat siege to end as handover agreed|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1392784/Arafat-siege-to-end-as-handover-agreed.html|access-date=17 June 2024|website=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> With that, and a promise that he would issue a call to the Palestinians to halt attacks on Israelis, Arafat was released. He issued such a call on 8 May. On 19 September 2002, the IDF largely demolished the compound with [[armored bulldozer]]s in order to isolate Arafat.<ref>Taylor & Francis Group (2004) Europa World Year Book 2: Kazakhstan-Zimbabwe Published by Taylor & Francis, {{ISBN|1-85743-255-X}} p 3314</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Serge|last=Schmemann|title=Arafat Remains Defiant Amid Rubble of His Compound|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E6DE1739F931A1575AC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2|work=The New York Times|date=22 September 2002|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref name=Larsen>{{cite web|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=337411 |title=Israeli siege of Arafat 'is killing peace hope' |access-date=16 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040601141232/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=337411 |archive-date=1 June 2004 |first=Justin |last=Huggler |work=The Independent |date=28 September 2002}}</ref> In March 2003, Arafat ceded his post as Prime Minister to [[Mahmoud Abbas]] amid pressures by the US.<ref name=alhram_647>{{Cite web|date=11 August 2003|work=Al-Ahram Weekly 
| title=Arafat vs Abbas | first= Khalid |last=Amayreh
|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/647/re2.htm|access-date=12 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030811171247/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/647/re2.htm |archive-date=11 August 2003 }}</ref>

The Israeli security Cabinet on 11 September 2003 decided that "Israel will act to remove this obstacle [Arafat] in the manner, at the time, and in the ways that will be decided on separately".<ref>{{Cite news|date=11 September 2003|title=Excerpts: Israeli security cabinet statement|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3102154.stm|access-date=12 February 2023| publisher= BBC}}</ref> Israeli Cabinet members and officials hinted on Arafat's death,<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Palestinian Cabinet OK'd
| first= Ellen |last=Crean
| agency= Associated Press
| date=29 September 2003
|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-palestinian-cabinet-okd/|access-date=12 February 2023|website=cbsnews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Shlaim|first1=Avi|last2=Tribune|first2=International Herald|date=24 September 2003|title=Opinion &#124; Israel and Palestine : The real obstacle to peace is Sharon, not Arafat|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/24/opinion/IHT-israel-and-palestine-the-real-obstacle-to-peace-is-sharon-not.html|access-date=12 February 2023|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
| first= Ellen |last=Crean
| publisher= CBS
| agency= Associated Press
| date= 15 September 2003
|title=Killing Arafat An Option|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/killing-arafat-an-option/|access-date=12 February 2023|website=cbsnews.com}}</ref> the Israeli military had begun making preparations for Arafat's possible expulsion in the near future,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.sky.com/story/211601/mid-east-on-edge-of-abyss-arafat-aide |title=Mid-East 'On Edge of Abyss': Arafat Aide |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208123439/http://news.sky.com/story/211601/mid-east-on-edge-of-abyss-arafat-aide |archive-date=8 December 2015 |website=Sky News |date=11 September 2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
|title=Israel's SAS prepares to snatch Arafat 
| date = 14 September 2003
|website=[[The Sunday Times]] |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/article41835.ece|access-date=12 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208112505/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/article41835.ece |archive-date=8 December 2015 }}</ref> and many feared for his life. Israeli peace activists of [[Gush Shalom]], Knesset members and others went into the [[Muqata|Presidential Compound]] prepared to serve as a human shield.<ref>{{Cite web
| first= Ellen |last=Crean
| agency=Associated Press
| date= 14 September 2003
|title=Arafat To Israel: Let's Talk Peace|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arafat-to-israel-lets-talk-peace/|access-date=12 February 2023|website=cbsnews.com}}</ref> The compound remained under siege until Arafat's transfer to a French hospital, shortly before his death.

In 2004, President Bush dismissed Arafat as a negotiating partner, saying he had "failed as a leader", and accused him of undercutting Abbas when he was prime minister (Abbas resigned the same year he was given the position).<ref>{{cite news|first=G. Robert|last=Hillman|title=Bush dismisses Arafat as Partner, Pushes for New Leader|url=http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2003/09/19/Nation/Bush-Dismisses.Arafat.Pushes.For.New.Leader-470765.shtml|work=The Dallas Morning News|date=19 September 2003|access-date=21 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013215544/http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2003/09/19/Nation/Bush-Dismisses.Arafat.Pushes.For.New.Leader-470765.shtml|archive-date=13 October 2007}}</ref> Arafat had a mixed relationship with the leaders of other Arab nations. His support from Arab leaders tended to increase whenever he was pressured by Israel; for example, when Israel declared in 2003 it had made the decision, in principle, to remove him from the Israeli-controlled West Bank.<ref name="Arafat Timeline"/> In an interview with the Arabic news network [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]], Arafat responded to Ariel Sharon's suggestion that he be exiled from the [[Palestinian territories]] permanently, by stating, "Is it his [Sharon's] homeland or ours? We were planted here before the Prophet Abraham came, but it looks like they [Israelis] don't understand history or geography."<ref name="Arafat Timeline"/>

==Financial dealings==
Under the Oslo Peace Accords, Israel undertook to deposit the VAT tax receipts on goods purchased by Palestinians into the Palestinian treasury. Until 2000, these monies were transferred directly to Arafat's personal accounts at [[Bank Leumi]], in Tel Aviv.
<ref name="billions">{{Cite web
| first=Tricia |last=McDermott
 | title= Arafat's Billions: One Man's Quest To Track Down Unaccounted-For Public Funds
| date=7 November 2003
|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arafats-billions/|access-date=12 February 2023|website=cbsnews.com}}</ref>

In August 2002, the [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel)|Israeli Military Intelligence]] Chief alleged that Arafat's personal wealth was in the range of US$1.3 billion.<ref name="Alon">{{cite news|first1=Gideon|last1=Alon|first2=Amira |last2=Hass |title=MI chief: terror groups trying hard to pull off mega-attack|url=https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=197188&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0|work=Haaretz|date=14 August 2002|access-date=21 July 2007|archive-date=1 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001004133/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=197188&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0|url-status=dead|author2-link=Amira Hass}}</ref> In 2003 the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) conducted an audit of the PNA and stated that Arafat had diverted $900 million in public funds to a special bank account controlled by himself and the PNA Chief Economic Financial adviser. However, the IMF did not claim that there were any improprieties, and it specifically stated that most of the funds had been used to invest in Palestinian assets, both internally and abroad.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arafat Diverted $900 Million to Private Account, IMF Says |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=arNczoMikRug |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=20 September 2003 |access-date=8 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402172134/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=arNczoMikRug |archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref><ref>For a general overview of the crucial importance of foreign funding in the peace process, and the PNA's use of such aid, see Rex Brynen, ''A Very Political Economy: Peacebuilding and Foreign Aid in the West Bank and Gaza,'' United States Institute of Peace Press, 2000</ref>

However, in 2003, a team of American accountants—hired by Arafat's own [[Finance minister|finance ministry]]—began examining Arafat's finances. In its conclusions, the team claimed that part of the Palestinian leader's wealth was in a secret portfolio worth close to $1 billion, with investments in companies like a [[Coca-Cola]] bottling plant in [[Ramallah]], a Tunisian cell phone company and [[Venture capital|venture capital funds]] in the U.S. and the [[Cayman Islands]]. The head of the investigation stated that "although the money for the portfolio came from public funds like Palestinian taxes, virtually none of it was used for the Palestinian people; it was all controlled by Arafat. And none of these dealings were made public."<ref name="billions"/> An investigation conducted by the [[General Accounting Office]] reported that Arafat and the PLO held over $10 billion in assets even at the time when he was publicly claiming bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Backgrounder: Corruption in the PLO's Financial Empire |url=http://www.cdn-friends-icej.co/medigest/jul98/backgrnd.html}}{{dead link |date=June 2024 |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

Although Arafat lived a modest lifestyle, [[Dennis Ross]], former Middle East negotiator for Presidents [[George H. W. Bush|George H.W. Bush]] and Bill Clinton, stated that Arafat's "walking-around money" financed a vast patronage system known as [[neopatrimonialism]]. According to [[Salam Fayyad]]—a former [[World Bank]] official whom Arafat appointed [[Finance Minister of the Palestinian National Authority|Finance Minister of the PNA]] in 2002—Arafat's commodity monopolies could accurately be seen as gouging his own people, "especially in Gaza which is poorer, which is something that is totally unacceptable and immoral." Fayyad claims that Arafat used $20 million from public funds to pay the leadership of the PNA security forces (the [[Preventive Security Service]]) alone.<ref name="billions"/>

Fuad Shubaki, former financial aide to Arafat, told the Israeli security service [[Shin Bet]] that Arafat used several million dollars of aid money to buy weapons and support militant groups.<ref>{{cite news|first=Yaakov|last=Katz|title='Arafat used aid to buy weapons|url=https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961361493&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=17 May 2006|access-date=21 July 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007112504/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961361493&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|archive-date=7 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> During Israel's [[Operation Defensive Shield]], the Israel army recovered counterfeit money and documents from Arafat's Ramallah headquarters. The documents showed that, in 2001, Arafat personally approved payments to [[Tanzim]] militants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/4/Documents%20seized%20during%20Operation%20Defensive%20Shield |title=Documents seized during Operation Defensive Shield linking Arafat to Terrorism |date=15 April 2002 |publisher=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040808183754/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/4/Documents%20seized%20during%20Operation%20Defensive%20Shield |archive-date=8 August 2004 |access-date=13 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Palestinians claimed that the counterfeit money was confiscated from criminal elements.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2002-04-03-27-israel-67566887/287571.html|title=Israel Claims Finding Evidence Against Arafat – 2002-04-03|website=VOA|date=30 October 2009 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

==Illness and death==

===Unsuccessful Israeli assassination attempts===
The Israeli government tried for decades to [[assassinate]] Arafat, including attempting to intercept and shoot down private aircraft and commercial [[airliner]]s on which he was believed to be traveling.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/magazine/how-arafat-eluded-israels-assassination-machine.html|title=How Arafat Eluded Israel's Assassination Machine|first=Ronen|last=Bergman|newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 January 2018|access-date=13 January 2019}}</ref> The assassination was initially assigned to Caesarea, the [[Mossad]] unit in charge of Israel's numerous targeted killings. Shooting down a commercial airliner in international airspace over very deep water was thought to be preferable to make recovery of the wreckage, and hence investigation, more difficult.<ref name="nytimes.com"/> Following Israel's 1982 invasion of [[Lebanon]], Israeli [[Minister of Defense|minister of defense]] [[Ariel Sharon]] created a special task force code named "Salt Fish" headed by [[special operations]] experts [[Meir Dagan]] and [[Rafi Eitan]] to track Arafat's movements in Lebanon to kill him because Sharon saw Arafat as a "Jew murderer" and an important symbol, symbols being as important as body counts in a war against a terrorist organization. The Salt Fish task force orchestrated the bombing of buildings where Arafat and senior PLO leaders were believed to be staying. Later renamed "Operation Goldfish", Israeli operatives followed Israeli journalist [[Uri Avnery]] to a meeting with Arafat in an additional unsuccessful attempt to kill him. In 2001, Sharon as prime minister is believed to have made a commitment to cease attempts to assassinate Arafat. However, following Israel's successful assassination in March 2004 of [[Sheikh Ahmed Yassin]], a founder of the Hamas movement, Sharon stated in April 2004 that "this commitment of mine no longer exists."<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

===Failing health===
The first reports of Arafat's failing health by his doctors for what his spokesman said was [[influenza]] came on 25 October 2004, after he vomited during a staff meeting. His condition deteriorated in the following days.<ref name="Government">{{cite web|url=http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC052021/Government/GovernmentPage.html|title=Ending of Yasser's Life|website=Palestine: The Mystery Country|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015507/http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC052021/Government/GovernmentPage.html|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> Following visits by other doctors, including teams from Tunisia, Jordan, and Egypt—and agreement by Israel to allow him to travel—Arafat was flown from Ramallah to Jordan by a Jordanian military helicopter and from there to France on a French military plane. He was admitted to the [[Percy military hospital]] in [[Clamart]], a suburb of Paris.<ref name="Funeral">{{cite news|title=Arafat's funeral held in Cairo: Mystery illness|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4005027.stm|first=Peter|last=Biles |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=12 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first= Yossi |last=Melman | newspaper = Haaretz | title = What killed Yasser Arafat? | date = 14 July 2011 | url = https://www.haaretz.com/blogs/2.294/what-killed-yasser-arafat-1.373131 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=29 October 2004|title=Frail Arafat arrives in France|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/29/israel4|access-date=17 June 2024|website=The Guardian}}</ref> On 3 November, he had lapsed into a gradually deepening coma.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volokh.com/posts/chain_1100148783.shtml|title=Arafat: If he is "brain-dead," he is dead|first=Jim|last=Lindgren|date=4 November 2004|work=The Volokh Conspiracy | agency = [[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref>

Arafat was pronounced dead at 03:30&nbsp;[[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] on 11 November 2004 at the age of 75 of what French doctors called a massive [[hemorrhagic]] [[cerebrovascular]] accident ([[hemorrhagic stroke]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/393851/hospitalization-report-english.pdf |title=Hospitalization Report |date=18 November 2004 |access-date=17 June 2024 |publisher=French Republic Ministry for Defence}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/palestinians-may-exhume-yasser-arafats-body-for-tests/|publisher=CBS News|title=Palestinians may exhume Yasser Arafat's body for tests|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120704191712/https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57466369/palestinians-may-exhume-yasser-arafats-body-for-tests/|archive-date=4 July 2012|date=4 July 2012|access-date=5 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Initially, Arafat's medical records were withheld by senior Palestinian officials, and Arafat's wife refused an autopsy believing that it went against Muslim practices.<ref name=NYT>{{cite news|title=Medical records say Arafat died from a stroke|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/08/international/middleeast/08arafat.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|access-date=17 June 2024|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 September 2005|first1=Steven |last1=Erlanger|first2=Lawrence K. |last2=Altman}}</ref> French doctors also said that Arafat suffered from a blood condition known as [[disseminated intravascular coagulation]], although it is inconclusive what brought about the condition.<ref name="TelegraphGastro">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/9396397/Yasser-Arafat-medical-records-show-health-was-blamed-on-gastroenteritis.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/9396397/Yasser-Arafat-medical-records-show-health-was-blamed-on-gastroenteritis.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Yasser Arafat medical records show health was blamed on gastroenteritis|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=12 July 2012|access-date=17 June 2024}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="APGastro">{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/arafat-medical-file-released-death-probe-190907751.html|title=New Arafat medical file released in death probe|agency=Associated Press|date=12 July 2012|access-date=15 July 2012|author=Laub, Karin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717033447/https://news.yahoo.com/arafat-medical-file-released-death-probe-190907751.html|archive-date=17 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> When Arafat's death was announced, the Palestinian people went into a state of mourning, with [[Qur'an]]ic mourning prayers emitted from mosque loudspeakers throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and tires burned in the streets.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-ap-arafat-palestinians-mourn-story.html|title=Palestinians Mourn Death of Arafat|work=Chicago Tribune|agency=Associated Press|date=11 November 2004|access-date=21 December 2017|last=Barzak|first=Ibrahim|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052824/http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-ap-arafat-palestinians-mourn-story.html|archive-date=22 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The Palestinian Authority and refugee camps in Lebanon declared 40 days of mourning.<ref name="Funeral"/><ref>{{cite news|first=James|last=Bennet|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E5DD173FF930A25752C1A9629C8B63|title=The Death of Arafat: An Emotion-Driven Flock Storms the Burial Ceremony|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

===Funeral===
[[File:Arafat Tomb.JPG|thumb|Arafat's "temporary" tomb in [[Ramallah]], 2004]]
{{Wikinews|Brazilian delegation returns from Arafat funeral}}

On 11 November 2004, a [[French Army]] [[guard of honour]] held a brief ceremony for Arafat, with his coffin draped in a [[Palestinian flag]]. A military band played the French and Palestinian national anthems, and a Chopin funeral march.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arafat begins final journey|first=Sarah|last=Left|url=https://www.theguardian.com/israel/Story/0,,1348445,00.html|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=11 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> French President [[Jacques Chirac]] stood alone beside Arafat's coffin for about ten minutes in a last show of respect for Arafat, whom he hailed as "a man of courage".<ref>{{cite news|title=Arafat Dies at 75; No Successor Set; West Bank Burial|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/international/middleeast/11cnd-araf.html?pagewanted=2|work=The New York Times|date=11 November 2004|access-date=6 December 2007|first1=James|last1=Bennet|first2=Steven|last2=Erlanger}}</ref> The next day, Arafat's body was flown from Paris aboard a [[French Air Force]] transport plane to [[Cairo]], Egypt, for a brief [[military funeral]] there, attended by several heads of states, prime ministers and foreign ministers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arafat's funeral: Who was there|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4003463.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=12 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> Egypt's top Muslim cleric [[Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy|Sayed Tantawi]] led mourning prayers preceding the funeral procession.<ref name="Funeral"/>

[[File:Yasser Arafat's tombstone.jpg|thumb|Honour guard at attention over Yasser Arafat's [[tombstone]] in [[mausoleum]], opened 10 November 2007 at the PNA [[Arafat's Compound|presidential headquarters]] in Ramallah]]

Israel refused Arafat's wish to be buried near the [[Temple Mount|Masjid Al-Aqsa]] or anywhere in [[Jerusalem]], citing security concerns.<ref>{{cite news|title=Israel Plans for Arafat Burial in Gaza|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-102156743.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911075855/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-102156743.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 September 2016|agency=Associated Press|date=7 November 2004|access-date=21 July 2007}}</ref> Israel also feared that his burial would strengthen Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-11-08-arafat-grave_x.htm|title=Grave site for Arafat is another point of contention|work=USA Today|date=8 November 2004|access-date=5 July 2012|author=Chabin, Michele|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108223421/https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-11-08-arafat-grave_x.htm|archive-date=8 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the Cairo procession, Arafat was "temporarily" buried within the [[Mukataa]] in [[Ramallah]]; tens of thousands of Palestinians attended the ceremony.<ref name="Funeral"/> Arafat was buried in a stone, rather than wooden, coffin, and Palestinian spokesman [[Saeb Erekat]] said that Arafat would be reburied in East Jerusalem following the establishment of a Palestinian state. After [[Sheikh Taissir Tamimi]] discovered that Arafat was buried improperly and in a coffin—which is not in accordance with [[Sharia|Islamic law]]—Arafat was reburied on the morning of 13 November at around 3:00&nbsp;am.<ref>{{cite news|title=No way to die|url=https://www.theguardian.com/israel/Story/0,2763,1374609,00.html|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=15 December 2004| access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> On 10 November 2007, prior to the third anniversary of Arafat's death, President [[Mahmoud Abbas]] unveiled a [[mausoleum]] for Arafat near his tomb in commemoration of him.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arafat mausoleum opened by Abbas|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7088743.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=10 November 2007|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

===Theories about the cause of death===
{{Main|Death of Yasser Arafat}}

[[File:Mausoleo Arafat (Muqata, Ramallah) 02.JPG|thumb|Arafat mausoleum]]

Numerous theories have circulated regarding Arafat's death, with the most prominent being poisoning<ref name="Al-Kurdi Claims">{{cite news|first=Danny|last=Rubenstein|author-link=Danny Rubenstein|url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.4961243|title=Arafat's doctor: There was HIV in his blood, but poison killed him|date=12 August 2007|work=Haaretz|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="Kapeliouk">{{cite news|first=Amnon|last=Kapeliouk|title=Yasser Arafat a-t-il été assassiné? |trans-title=Was Arafat murdered?|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2005/11/KAPELIOUK/12894|work=Le Monde diplomatique|date=2 November 2005|access-date=17 June 2024|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Bassam Abu Sharif's claim about poisoning">{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2009/July/21%20n/Israeli%20Mossad%20poisoned%20Arafat%20through%20his%20medications,%20says%20Bassam%20Abu%20Sharif.htm|title=Israeli Mossad poisoned Arafat through his medications, says Bassam Abu Sharif|date=20 July 2009|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=17 June 2024|first=Saed |last=Bannoura}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=349911 |title=Arafat's aide: New information on president's death |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921053649/http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=349911 |archive-date=21 September 2012 |website=Ma'an News Agency |date=10 January 2011}}</ref> (possibly by [[polonium]]) and<ref>[[Israel Radio]] English news, 17 January 2011, 0430 [[UTC]].</ref> [[HIV/AIDS#Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome|AIDS]]-related illnesses,<ref name="AIDS">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4225332.stm|title=Cause of Arafat death 'unknown' Medical records of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat appear to show that doctors could not determine the underlying cause of his death.|date=8 September 2005|publisher=BBC News|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref name=McDermott>{{Cite book|title=Presidential leadership, illness, and decision making|url=https://archive.org/details/presidentiallead00mcde|url-access=registration|last=McDermott|first=Rose|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-521-88272-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/presidentiallead00mcde/page/n255 244]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/July/Arafats-Widow-Alleges-Criminal-Scheme-over-Death/ |title=Arafat's Widow Alleges 'Criminal Scheme' over Death |publisher=CBN.com |access-date=15 November 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118233610/http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2012/July/Arafats-Widow-Alleges-Criminal-Scheme-over-Death/|archive-date=18 January 2013}}</ref> as well as liver disease<ref>{{cite news|title=Palestinians head to Paris to probe Arafat's death|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/palestinians-head-to-paris-to-probe-arafat-s-death-1.995408|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=17 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> or a [[platelet]] disorder.<ref>{{cite news|title=Family: Platelet disorder killed Arafat|url=http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=435849|work=[[Ma'an News Agency]]|date=11 October 2011|access-date=4 July 2012|archive-date=18 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118040350/http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=435849|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In September 2005, an Israeli AIDS expert claimed that Arafat bore all the symptoms of AIDS based on obtained medical records.<ref name="AIDS"/> But others, including [[Patrice Mangin]] of the [[University of Lausanne]] and ''[[The New York Times]]'', disagreed with this claim, insisting that Arafat's record indicated that it was highly unlikely that the cause of his death was AIDS.<ref name="AJ_widow_calls"/><ref name=NYT /> Arafat's personal doctor Ashraf al-Kurdi and aide [[Bassam Abu Sharif]] maintained that Arafat was poisoned,<ref name="Al-Kurdi Claims"/><ref name="Kapeliouk"/> possibly by [[Thallium poisoning|thallium]].<ref name="Bassam Abu Sharif's claim about poisoning"/> A senior Israeli physician concluded that Arafat died from food poisoning.<ref name="AIDS"/> Both Israeli and Palestinian officials have denied claims that Arafat was poisoned.<ref name="AIDS"/><ref name="MSNBC">{{cite news|title=Arafat's doctor wants autopsy|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6472056|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=12 November 2004|access-date=17 June 2024|publisher=NBC News}}</ref> [[Palestinian foreign minister]] [[Nabil Shaath]] ruled out poisoning after talks with Arafat's French doctors.<ref name="MSNBC"/>

On 4 July 2012, [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] published the results of a nine-month investigation, which found that rumors Arafat had died of cancer, cirrhosis, or AIDS were not true, because he was in good health until he fell ill suddenly on 12 October 2004{{snd}}but revealed that tests carried out by Swiss experts found traces of polonium in quantities much higher than could occur naturally on Arafat's personal belongings.<ref name="AJ_widow_calls">{{Cite web|title=Arafat's widow calls for body to be exhumed
| first= Gregg |last=Carlstrom
| publisher= Al Jazeera
| date= 4 July 2012
|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/2012/7/4/arafats-widow-calls-for-body-to-be-exhumed|access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref><ref name=BBC_call_for_inquiry>{{Cite news|date=3 July 2012|title=Yasser Arafat: Palestinians call for poison inquiry|publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-18695634|access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref> On 12 October 2013, the British medical journal ''[[The Lancet]]'' published a peer-reviewed article by the Swiss experts about the analysis of the 38 samples of Arafat's clothes and belongings and 37 reference samples which were known to be polonium-free, suggesting that Arafat could have died of polonium poisoning.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Improving forensic investigation for polonium poisoning|url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61834-6/fulltext|journal=Lancet|year=2013 |pmid=24120205 |access-date=12 October 2013|last1=Froidevaux |first1=P. |last2=Baechler |first2=S. |last3=Bailat |first3=C. J. |last4=Castella |first4=V. |last5=Augsburger |first5=M. |last6=Michaud |first6=K. |last7=Mangin |first7=P. |last8=Bochud |first8=F. O. |volume=382 |issue=9900 |page=1308 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61834-6 |s2cid=32134286 |issn = 0140-6736 |url-access=subscription }} {{subscription required|s}}</ref><ref name=LT24.05.14/>

On 27 November 2012, three teams of international investigators, a French, a Swiss, and a Russian team, collected samples from Arafat's body and the surrounding soil in the mausoleum in [[Ramallah]], to carry out an investigation independently from each other.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Gregg |last=Carlstrom
| date = 27 November 2013
|title=Yasser Arafat's body exhumed in Ramallah|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2012/11/27/yasser-arafats-body-exhumed-in-ramallah-2|access-date=17 June 2024|publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/yasser-arafats-remains-exhumed-for-death-investigation-palestinians-say/ |title=Yasser Arafat's remains exhumed for death investigation, Palestinians say |website=CBS |date=27 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127162122/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57554606/yasser-arafats-remains-exhumed-for-death-investigation-palestinians-say/ |archive-date=27 November 2012 |access-date=14 November 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Samples taken from Arafat corpse for poison tests|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-arafat-idUSBRE8AP1A120121127|work=[[Reuters]]|date=27 November 2012|access-date=17 June 2024 |first=Jihan |last=Abdalla}}</ref>

On 6 November 2013, Al Jazeera reported that the Swiss forensic team had found levels of polonium in Arafat's ribs and pelvis 18 to 36 times the average,<ref name=AJ_Swiss_study>{{Cite web|last2=Silverstein|first1=David | last1=Poort| first2=Ken |title=Swiss study: Polonium found in Arafat's bones|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/11/7/swiss-study-polonium-found-in-arafats-bones|access-date=17 June 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera| date = 6 November 2013}}</ref><ref name=Reuters_Arafat_poisoned>{{Cite news|title=Swiss Team: Arafat Poisoned to Death With Polonium|work=Haaretz |agency=Reuters|url=https://www.haaretz.com/2013-11-06/ty-article/swiss-team-arafat-poisoned-with-polonium/0000017f-e386-d7b2-a77f-e3876db50000 | date= 6 November 2013 |access-date=12 February 2023}}</ref> even though by this point in time the amount had diminished by a factor of 2 million.<ref name=LT24.05.14>{{cite news |language=fr |first=Luis |last=Lema |url=https://www.letemps.ch/monde/yasser-arafat-valse-isotopes |title=Yasser Arafat, la valse des isotopes |website=[[Le Temps]] |date= 24 May 2014 |page=3 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> François Bochud, the head of the Swiss team, said that the poisoning hypothesis by polonium is "reasonably supported",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/killing-arafat/qa-francois-bochud-arafat-report-2013117184743478799.html|title=Q&A: Francois Bochud on the Arafat report|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=8 November 2013 |first=David |last=Poort |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> while forensic scientist Dave Barclay, retained by Al Jazeera, stated, "In my opinion, it is absolutely certain that the cause of his illness was polonium poisoning. ... What we have got is the smoking gun – the thing that caused his illness and was given to him with malice."<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Taylor |title=Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was murdered with polonium: widow |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/palestinian-leader-yasser-arafat-was-murdered-polonium-widow-flna8C11542188 |publisher=NBC News |agency=Reuters|date=7 November 2013 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref name=AJ_Swiss_study/> Derek Hill, a professor in radiological science at University College London who was not involved in the investigation, said "I would say it's clearly not overwhelming proof, and there is a risk of contamination (of the samples), but it is a pretty strong signal. ... It seems likely what they're doing is putting a very cautious interpretation of strong data."<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/arafats-body-loaded-with-polonium-say-scientists-20131107-2x3te.html|title=Arafat's body loaded with polonium, say scientists|first=Robert|last=Tait|date=8 November 2013|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

But on 26 December 2013, a team of Russian scientists released a report saying they had found no trace of radioactive poisoning—a finding that came after the French report found traces of polonium. Vladimir Uiba, the head of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency, said that Arafat died of natural causes and the agency had no plans to conduct further tests.<ref>{{cite web |title=Russia: Arafat's death not caused by radiation|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/26/russia-arafats-death-not-caused-radiation/ |work=[[The Washington Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=17 June 2024|date=26 December 2013 |first=Vladimir |last=Isachenkov}}</ref> Unlike the Swiss report, the French and Russian reports were not made public at the time.<ref name=LT24.05.14/> The Swiss experts read the French and Russian reports and argued that the radiologic data measured by the other teams supported their conclusions of a probable death by polonium poisoning.<ref name=LT24.05.14/> In March 2015, a French prosecutor closed a 2012 French inquiry, stating that French experts maintained that the polonium and lead traces found were of an environmental nature.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Arafat-was-not-poisoned-French-prosecutor-says-394173|title=Arafat was not poisoned, French prosecutor says|work=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=17 June 2024|date=17 March 2015}}</ref> Palestinian official Wasel Abu Yousef said of the 2013 report, "The French report is politicized and is contrary to all the evidence which confirms that the president was killed by poisoning", and "This report is an attempt to cover up what happened in Percy hospital."<ref>{{cite news |title=Arafat did not die of poisoning, French tests conclude |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-arafat-idUKBRE9B20DI20131203 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=3 December 2013|first=Paul |last=Taylor |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Places named in his honor include:

* [[Martyr Yasser Arafat Governmental Hospital]]
* [[Yasser Arafat Cup]]
* [[Yasser Arafat International Airport]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Palestine|Politics}}
* [[Politics of Palestine]]
* [[List of international trips made by Yasser Arafat]]
* [[List of Fatah members]]
* [[Arafat's Johannesburg Address]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?15457-1/arafat-eyes-beholder ''Booknotes'' interview with John and Janet Wallach on ''Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder'', 23 December 1990], [[C-SPAN]]}}
* {{cite book|last=Aburish|first=Said K.|author-link=Said Aburish|title=Arafat: From Defender to Dictator|url=https://archive.org/details/arafat00said|url-access=registration|year=1998|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|location=New York|isbn=978-1-58234-049-4 }}
* {{cite book|last=Gowers|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Gowers|author2=Tony Walker|title=Arafat: The Biography|year=2005|publisher=Virgin Books|isbn=978-1-85227-924-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Hart (writer) |date=1989 |title=Arafat, a political biography |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-32711-6 |place=Bloomington |url=https://archive.org/details/arafatpoliticalb00hart/}}
* {{cite book|last=Karsh|first=Efraim|author-link=Efraim Karsh|title=Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest|year=2003|publisher=Grove Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8021-1758-8|url=https://archive.org/details/arafatswarmanan00kars}}
* {{cite book|last=Livingstone|first=Neil|title=Inside the PLO|year=1990|publisher=[[Reader's Digest|Reader's Digest Association]]|isbn=978-0-7090-4548-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Rubin|first=Barry M.|author2=Judith Colp Rubin|title=Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography|year=2003|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-516689-7|url=https://archive.org/details/yasirarafatpolit00rubi}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Rubenstein|first1=Danny|author-link=Danny Rubenstein|first2=Dan |last2=Leon|title=The Mystery of Arafat|year=1995|publisher=Steerforth Press|isbn=978-1-883642-10-5|url=https://archive.org/details/mysteryofarafat00rubi}}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Sela |first=Avraham |author-link=Avraham Sela |year=2002 |title=Arafat, Yasser |editor-last=Avraham |editor-first=Sela |encyclopedia=The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East |edition=Rev. and updated |location=New York |publisher=Continuum |pages=166–171 |isbn=9780826414137 |oclc=48706504}}
* {{cite book |last=Wallach |first=Janet |author2=John Wallach |year=1990 |title=Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder |location=Secaucus, NJ |publisher=Lyle Stuart |isbn=978-0-8184-0533-4 |oclc=21950960}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|c=Category:Yasser Arafat|d=Q34211|s=Author:Yasser Arafat|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|wikt=no}}
* {{Nobelprize}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120229043817/http://www.passia.org/Arafat/Arafat.pdf Yasser Arafat (1929–2004)] at [[PASSIA]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041113202139/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,781566-1,00.html "A Life in Retrospect: Yasser Arafat"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''
* {{C-SPAN|19164}}
* {{IMDb name|0032715}}
* {{JPosttopic|Yasser_Arafat}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/a/yasir_arafat}}

{{Fatah}}
{{Arab-Israeli Conflict|state=collapsed}}
{{Presidents of the Palestinian Authority|state=collapsed}}
{{Chairmen of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization|state=collapsed}}
{{Nobel Peace Prize Laureates 1976-2000|state=collapsed}}
{{1994 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation}}
{{Time Persons of the Year 1976-2000|state=collapsed}}
{{Arab nationalism}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arafat, Yasser}}
[[Category:Yasser Arafat| ]]
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Palestinian politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century presidents in Asia]]
[[Category:21st-century Palestinian politicians]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Cairo University alumni]]
[[Category:Central Committee of Fatah members]]
[[Category:Collars of the Order of the White Lion]]
[[Category:Fatah military commanders]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization]]
[[Category:Muslim socialists]]
[[Category:Nobel Peace Prize laureates]]
[[Category:Palestine Liberation Organization members]]
[[Category:Palestine Liberation Organization]]
[[Category:Palestinian Arab nationalists]]
[[Category:Palestinian billionaires]]
[[Category:Palestinian civil engineers]]
[[Category:Palestinian Muslims]]
[[Category:Palestinian nationalists]]
[[Category:Palestinian Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Palestinian people imprisoned by Syria]]
[[Category:Palestinian people of Egyptian descent]]
[[Category:Palestinian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Palestinian socialists]]
[[Category:People of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:People of the Lebanese Civil War]]
[[Category:Politicians from Cairo]]
[[Category:Presidents of Palestine]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Palestinian National Authority]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class]]
[[Category:Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana]]
[[Category:Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents]]
[[Category:20th-century engineers]]
[[Category:People of the Second Intifada]]