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(1929- ) President of Palestine, through being president of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the Palestinian territories in Gaza and on the West Bank. Arafat's international profile has changed during the last 30 years. He was during the 1960's seen upon as leader and conductor of several terrorist attacks into Israel. In the 1970's the international society came to regard him as being a politician without country, but still associated with the activities performed in the 1960's. In the 1980's, Arafat started to gain more important support in the West, much because of increasingly unwise politics from Israel's side (attacks at Lebanon, massacres in Sabra and Chatila), but basically because of a change of his own politics (more talks, less action). In the 90's Arafat has come to be considered a pragmatic moderate, and by many foreign observers as a wiser politician than his Israeli opponents. Few question Arafat's intentions in the peace process, but there is more uncertainty on his will to get peace with his Palestinian political opponents. Through 2001, Arafat's position weakened as well as his popularity. There are several reasons for this: Other, and more radical groups have been far more active as well as representative for public opinion. Israeli actions against the Palestinian infrastructure like the police, has made it virtually impossible for Arafat to exercise much power, hence creating an image of him as weak and inactive among his own former supporters. There are also indications that Arafat himself is sympathizing with, and allowing, radical groups sufficient room for their uprising and their terrorist attacks on Israeli soil, since he over years has experience little cooperation from Israeli leaders, and no progress in the peace process. In 2002, Arafat became humiliated by Ariel Sharon who gave him house arrest in Ramallah from December 2001 to April 2002. This gave Arafat a status of a martyr (even if he still was alive) for the Palestinian cause, and a leader who would not bend. It would be correct to say that when Sharon tried to destroy Arafat, and even publicly declared him "irrelevant", he gave him back his strength and recreated him the undisputed leader of the Palestinians. The rule over the small territories that have been given autonomy, Palestine, has not been a success. There has been many breaks on human rights, and economical growth is still beyond reach. Much of this has been ascribed to Arafat, who has been accused of being too weak with to prevent corruption and nepotism among the new leadership of Palestine. During the same period, Israel has made it more difficult for Palestinians living in occupied territories who work in Israel, to keep their work. The result is that living conditions have become worse for most of the citizens. Despite the problems, there was good reason to believe that Arafat was the preferred leader of the new Palestinian state until the second Intifada of fall 2000. Since then his support has dwindled, but in case of normal elections, he might still be reelected.
BIOGRAPHY 1929 August 24 (?): Born in Cairo, Egypt. Place of birth is not certain, other sources state Jerusalem or Gaza. During his childhood Arafat lives in both Cairo and Jerusalem. 1947: In the wars with the Jews, Arafat fights on the side of the grand mufti of Jerusalem. 1948: Flees Palestine, after the establishment of Israel. He settles in Cairo, where he starts to study engineering at University of Cairo. 1952: He joins the Muslim Brotherhood and Union of Palestinian Students, where he becomes president. 1956: Participates in the Suez campaign, in the Egyptian Army. 1956: Moves to Kuwait, where he worked as an engineer, and established his own entrepreneur company. 1957: Started Al Fatah. Al Fatah conducted several attacks into Israel. 1967: Al Fatah was linked to PLO. 1968: Arafat is elected chairman of PLO. He starts working on bringing PLO from an ideology of Pan-Arabism to Palestinian nationalism. 1974: Arafat holds a speech in front of the General Assembly in UN. 1982: PLO is forced to move from Lebanon, after Israel attacks the country. The new headquarters of PLO are located to Borj Cedria in the Golf of Tunis, Tunisia. 1988 November 15: The State of Palestine proclaimed at a meeting in Algiers, Algeria. 1989: Arafat is elected president of State of Palestine by the Central Council of the Palestine National Council. 1991: US-led talks begin in Madrid, but lead nowhere. 1993:The Oslo Agreement brings the peace process a giant leap forward. The content is a "land for peace"- principle. 1993: Arafat recognizes Israel's right to existence. 1994 May: Israeli forces withdraw from the town of Jericho in May, in order to hand this over to the Palestinians.
— December 10: Receives the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.
— July: Arafat returns to Palestine. 1996 January 20: Arafat is elected president of the Palestinian Authority in public elections, with 88% of the votes. 2000: Through this year, Arafat at first turns down a peace proposal from the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, which would give Palestine control over more than 90% of the territory of the West Bank. Later this year, Palestine enters a situation of civil unrest, where Palestinians throw stones at soldiers, who retaliates with bullets. Hundreds of Palestinians are killed.
— December: Reports of new negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. 2001: The dialogue between Israel and Palestine disintegrates following numerous terrorist attacks from Palestinian groups on innocent Israeli civilians and in one case the extermist tourist minister of Israel, and from the state of Israel on both Palestinian terrorists, their leaders as well as innocent civilians.
— Arafat is by Israel's prime minister Ariel Sharon stripped for much of his power. At times of Christmas, Arafat is put in virtual house arrest, as a retaliation for little cooperation in hunting down known Palestinian terrorists.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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