Arafat, Yasir (1929- ), head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), executive of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and Nobel laureate. Born in Jerusalem, he fled after the establishment of Israel in 1948. He later studied engineering in Cairo and also trained as a fedayeen (commando). In 1956 he founded the commando group Al Fatah, and for the next few years, while working with a construction firm in Kuwait, Arafat led fedayeen raids deep into Israeli territory. In 1964, he linked Al Fatah with similar groups in the PLO, which he has headed since 1968. After the Arab League recognized the PLO as the sole representative of Palestinian Arabs in 1974, Arafat worked to win international recognition for the organization, and he made a strong effort to exchange his terrorist image for that of the moderate statesman. In 1988 he proclaimed an independent Palestinian state, addressed a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in Geneva, and recognized Israel's right to exist, thus meeting a pivotal United States condition for substantive dialogue with the PLO. His support for Iraq during the Persian Gulf War (1991) eroded his international standing, especially with most Arab governments in the Gulf.
On September 13, 1993, after secret negotiations, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin agreed to sign a peace accord in Washington, D.C., calling for Israel and the PLO to recognize each other and for Palestinian self-rule to begin in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. In 1994 Arafat and Rabin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts with the peace accords. However, violence between Israelis and Palestinians continued even after the peace agreements. In April 1995 Arafat pledged to increase efforts to control the terrorist activities of radical Muslim organizations, which had made several attacks on Israelis. He also expressed the need to increase economic development in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which would provide jobs for Palestinians.

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