Yasser
Arafat
Jerusalem,
Palestine
(1929-2004)
Born : August 24, 1929; Cairo, Egypt
Education : Degree in engineering,University of Fuad I (now Cairo Uni.), 1956
Early Years : In 1946, began procuring arms for an anticipated battle for Palestinian territory ; Helped found Fatah , a guerrilla group dedicated to the liberation of Palestine , mid 1950s ; Began mounting raids in to Israel,1965 ; Elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), 1969.
Recent Years: Signed draft agreement with Israel providing a Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and the West Bank town of Jericho 1993 Awarded Nobel Peace Prize along with Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres,1994.
BIOGRAPHY
1929, August 24 : Born in Cairo , Egypt . Place of birth is not
certain, other sources state Jerusalem or Gaza . During his childhood
Arafat lived in both Cairo and Jerusalem.
1947: In the wars with the Jews , Arafat fought on the side of the grand
mufti of Jerusalem.
1948: Fled Palestine, after the establishment of Israel. He settled in
Cairo where he started studying engineering at University of Cairo.
1952: He joined the Muslim B Brotherhood and Union of Palestinian
Students, where he became president.
1956: Moved 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.
1968: Al Fatah was linked to PLO.
1969: Elected chairman of PLO. Worked on bringing PLO from Pan-arabism to
Palestinian nationalism.
1974: Held a speech in front of the General Assembly in UN.
1982: PLO had to move from Lebanon. after Israel attacked the
country.Moved the headquarters to Tunisia.
1988, Nov. 15: State of Palestine proclaimed at a meeting in Algiers,
Algeria.
1989: Elected president of State of Palestine by the Central Council of
the Palestine National Council.
1991: USA-led talks begin Madrid, but lead nowhere.
1993: Oslo agreement brings the peace process a giant leap forward . The
content is a "land for peace" principle.
1993: Arafat recognized Israel's right to existence.
1994: Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza strip and Jericho in May . Arafat
came home in July.
1996: Jan. 20 Elected president of the Palestinian Authority in public
elections, with 88% of the votes.
Do you know something we don't?
Contact Us
Added: May 2006