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Arafat

Arafat most commonly refers to Yasser Arafat, a prominent Palestinian political leader and a central figure in the Palestinian national movement during the late 20th century. Born Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa in 1929 in Cairo to a Palestinian family that had become refugees, he helped shape Palestinian political life for decades. He was a founder of Fatah in 1959 and led the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, as its chairman from 1969 until his death in 2004. Under his leadership the PLO became the main umbrella organization representing Palestinians and pursued a strategy that evolved from armed struggle to diplomacy.

Arafat played a pivotal role in the Oslo peace process. In 1993, he and Israeli leaders Yitzhak

Arafat died on November 11, 2004, in a hospital in Clamart, France. Officially attributed to a sudden

Rabin
and
Shimon
Peres
signed
the
Oslo
Accords,
which
created
a
framework
for
Palestinian
self-rule
in
parts
of
the
West
Bank
and
Gaza
and
laid
the
groundwork
for
future
negotiations
toward
a
final
settlement.
In
1994
he
received
the
Nobel
Peace
Prize
alongside
Rabin
and
Peres
for
their
contributions
to
the
peace
process.
Following
the
accords,
he
served
as
president
of
the
Palestinian
Authority,
overseeing
limited
self-government
in
parts
of
the
Palestinian
territories,
while
critics
highlighted
concerns
about
governance,
corruption,
and
the
pace
of
peace
progress.
illness,
with
reports
of
a
stroke,
his
death
has
also
been
the
subject
of
speculation
and
investigations
regarding
possible
poisoning,
though
no
conclusive
evidence
has
emerged.
His
legacy
remains
a
defining
and
contested
element
of
modern
Palestinian
politics.