Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian political leader who led Palestinian people’s resistance✊ against the Israeli occupation of their territory for nearly 50 years.
He was one of the most divisive🤔 figures of the 20th century.
While the majority of the Palestinian people view him as a heroic freedom fighter and martyr😇, most Israeliscontinue to regard him as a terrorist👿.
Early Life
Arafat was born in 1929 in Cairo, Egypt.
He embraced Arab nationalism in his youth and started helping Palestinian fighters resisting🤺 the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Took Charge
In 1959, Arafat founded Fatah, a political and military group👥, which was a part of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
In 1967 he became the chairman of PLO.
Arafat led several attacks🔥 against Israel from various Arab territories.
Changed his stance
As his long campaign against Israel failed😒 to bring the desired results, Arafat recognized the ground realitiesand eventually softened his stand against Israel.
He began negotiations with the Israeli govt. which led to a peace agreement🤝 between the two sides in 1993.
It resulted in the establishment of the Palestinian Authority🏛 with Arafat becoming its president.
Bestowed with Nobel Prize
For their peace initiatives, Arafat along with Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize🏵 in 1994.
Loss of Stature
In the mid-90s🗓, Fatah began to lose support among the Palestinians amid the growth↗ of other militant rivals such as Hamas.
Post-2000, Arafat’s health began deteriorating🤮.
He died in Nov. 2004.
His funeral⚰, attended by lakhs is one of the biggest funeral processions ever.