People
ARAFAT, Yasser -- President of Palestine
Yasser Arafat was the founder of Fatah and chairman of the Palestine Liberation of Organization and was in 1996 elected as President. In the early '70s he came before the UN General Assembly with his famous "gun and the olive branch" speech. The symbolic juxtaposition of peace and resistence has defined Arafat's political life. He died in November 2004 in a hospital in France. (Added 12 September 2003)

On 15 November 1988, Yasser Arafat declared independence and the establishment of an independent State of Palestine. In 1993 he signed the Declaration of Principles at the White House and in 1994, after years of exile he returned back to Palestine, where he was elected president of the Palestinian Authority. The Oslo Accords, which brought him back, were ultimately to undermine his status, as unabated Israeli colonization of the occupied territories and punishing closures of towns soured what meager benefits Palestinians experienced from the handover of population areas (but little other land) by Israel. Blamed for the failure of the 2000 Camp David talks and for the inevitable and predictable outbreak of the second intifada, Israel has invested much public relations efforts in demonising Arafat to divert attention from its bad faith negotiations during the Oslo process.

On 29 October 2004, the 75-year-old Arafat was flown from his compound in Ramallah to France to a military hospital in order to receive treatment for a grave illness. In a 9 November press conference in Paris, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath reported on Arafat's condition, saying he had been in a coma since 3 November and had slipped deeper into the coma during the night. He quashed rumours of poisoning or cancer, saying that the terrible conditions during the three years of his office arrest in Ramallah had seriously affected his digestive system, preventing him from absorbing nutrition. On 10 November, media outlets began to report that Arafat's organs were progressively failing. On 11 November 2004 he died in a hospital in France. On November 12 he was laid to rest in Ramallah's Muqata'a, entombed in earth from the al-Haram al-Shareef compound in Jerusalem until such a time he can be moved to the Palestinian capital.

The Beyond Arafat section below tracks developments and reactions.

In Memorium
  • Yasser Arafat, 1929-2004, The Electronic Intifada (10 November 2004)
  • Photostory: Ramallah reacts to news of Arafat's death, Maureen Clare Murphy (11 November 2004)
  • Palestinians reach out to their leader for a final embrace, Jonathan Cook (13 November 2004)
  • Palestine Greater Than Arafat, Sam Bahour (11 November 2004)
  • UN Committee for Palestinian rights deeply saddened by death of Arafat, UNGA (11 November 2004)
  • Arafat to be recalled for leading Palestinians to accept principle of coexistence with Israel -- Annan, UN News (11 November 2004)


    Beyond Arafat
  • After Arafat: refracted reflections, Laurie King-Irani (16 November 2004)
  • Palestinians embracing post-Arafat era, Khalid Amayreh (11 November 2004)
  • Blaming Arafat for Israel's torpedoing of Oslo, Nigel Parry (11 November 2004)
  • Interview with author Clayton Swisher: Challenging Camp David mythology, four years on (10 November 2004)
  • Palestinians to continue struggle, Khalid Amayreh (9 November 2004)
  • The End of the Arafat Era, Am Johal (8 November 2004)
  • Just another Ramadan Friday in Ramallah, Maureen Clare Murphy (5 November 2004)
  • EI discusses Palestine after Arafat on CBC Radio's "As It Happens", CBC Radio (5 November 2004)
  • The Mountain Shakes, Toine van Teeffelen (5 November 2004)
  • Arafat's departure brings uncertainty, Charmaine Seitz (4 November 2004)
  • Hamas prepares for post-Arafat era, Khalid Amayreh (2 November 2004)
  • Thinking beyond Arafat, Ali Abunimah (31 October 2004)
  • EI on FOX News, Video, Fox News (29 October 2004)


    Opinion and Analysis
  • Imperial Misconceptions, Roni Ben Efrat (13 July 2004)
  • Deep-rooted corruption in Palestine, Hasan Abu Nimah & Ali Abunimah (23 June 2004)
  • A Palestinian Authority steeped in paralysis and corruption, Hasan Abu Nimah (18 February 2004)
  • Humiliating Arafat, Hasan Abu Nimah (16 July 2003)
  • A new Sykes-Picot Agreement: Yasser Arafat discusses the future, Kathleen and Bill Christison (24 March 2003)
  • Arafat & Co. celebrate 'VIP' status, Hasan Abu-Nimah (18 September 2002)
  • Reform and the Palestinian media, Walid Batrawi (20 June 2002)
  • 'It was a set up', Arjan El Fassed (8 May 2002)
  • EI's Ali Abunimah on MSNBC (1 April 2002)
  • Interactive Holiday, Arjan El Fassed (18 December 2001)


    Biography
  • Nobel e-Museum
  • Office of the President
  • Arafat's speech to the United Nations General Assembly (13 November 1974)
  • Photo Gallery, PASSIA


    Corruption and Reform
  • Palestinian internal crisis deepens but is not new, Arjan El Fassed (24 July 2004)
  • Palestinian Authority should tackle crisis through reform, Annan says, UN News (21 July 2004)
  • What's wrong with the PA?, Arjan El Fassed (18 July 2004)
  • Journalists threatened over coverage of political infighting, CPJ (23 July 2004)
  • Palestine Journalists Syndicate bans reports on PA crisis, RSF (22 July 2004)
  • Mezan warns about serious consequences of the declaration of emergency, Al-Mezan (18 July 2004)
  • UN Envoy: Palestinian Authority's paralysis has become abundantly clear, UN/DPI (13 July 2004)
  • Deep-rooted corruption in Palestine, Hasan Abu Nimah & Ali Abunimah (23 June 2004)
  • Cement and Corruption, Arjan El Fassed (11 June 2004)
  • A Palestinian Authority steeped in paralysis and corruption, Hasan Abu Nimah (18 February 2004)
  • BY TOPIC: Palestinian Authority


    Israel's attempt to "remove" Arafat
  • Israel's cabinet decision to "remove" Arafat (11 September 2003)
  • EI's Ali Abunimah on Democracy Now! (13 September 2003)
  • Gush Shalom activist Uri Avnery to act as human shield for Arafat (14 September 2003)
  • Annan, Security Council call on Israel not to expel Arafat, United Nations (12 September 2003)
  • "They have decided upon cold-blooded murder", Uri Avnery (12 September 2003)
  • Artificial Crisis, Artificial Response, Ali Abunimah (24 September 2002)
  • Why did they demonstrate?, Awatef Sheikh (25 September 2002)
  • There is No News Today, Ali Abunimah (2 May 2002)
  • An open letter to the American public from Arafat's compound, Rebecca Murray and Kevin Skvorak (29 April 2002)
  • The reoccupation of Ramallah, Zuhair Sabbagh (8 April 2002)
  • 'We heard many explosions', Majdi al-Malki (7 April 2002)
  • Waking up in America, Nigel Parry (29 March 2002)


    Media Analysis
  • New York Times coverage of Arafat's death, Hugh Sansom (12 November 2004)
  • Blaming Arafat for Israel's torpedoing of Oslo, Nigel Parry (11 November 2004)
  • Mistaken assertions that Arafat has not condemned terror "in Arabic", Daoud Kuttab (9 April 2002).
  • Israel's 'smoking gun': A damp firecracker, Ali Abunimah, Nigel Parry, and Laurie King-Irani (4 April 2002).


    Humor
  • Arafat's face appears on grilled cheese sandwich, BNN (18 November 2004)
  • Controversy over Suha Arafat comments rages in media, BNN (8 November 2004)
  • Arafat sends chocolates to Sharon, BNN (30 January 2003)
  • Shocking revelation about Arafat's Palestinian heritage, BNN (1 October 2002)


    Websites
  • Palestinian National Authority
  • PNA Ministries
  • Palestinian Legislative Council
  • Fateh


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