Yasir 'Arafat - President of the Palestinian National Authority

Yasir ‘Arafat was born Muhammad ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘Abd al-Ra’uf Qudwa on August 24, 1929. Although most analysts believe that he was born in Egypt, the official Palestinian National Authority records claim he was born in Jerusalem. This may be for domestic consumption since ‘Arafat claims Jerusalem as the “eternal capital of our independent Palestinian state.”

Regardless of his place of birth, Yasir ‘Arafat is of Palestinian origin – a member of the prominent and influential Al-Husayni family of Jerusalem. The Al-Husaynis have a long history of involvement in political events in the region dating back to, and before, the days of the British mandate over Palestine.

‘Arafat is also known by his nom de guerre Abu ‘Umar. He was involved in the 1947 and 1948 Arab-Jewish struggles for eventual control of the area under the British mandate. After the establishment of the state of Israel and the defeat of Arab forces attempting to crush the new Jewish state, ‘Arafat sought refuge in Gaza.

Moving to Cairo, he continued his education at the University of Cairo, and obtained a degree in civil engineering in 1951 from King Fu’ad University. While pursuing his studies, ‘Arafat had become involved in the Muslim Brotherhood and was elected president of the Union of Palestinian Students.

In addition to education in Egypt, ‘Arafat also gained valuable military training and combat experience, serving as a lieutenant in the Egyptian Army during the 1956 Suez campaign. After his military service, he came under the scrutiny of Egyptian internal security and was arrested for illegal political activities on several occasions.

Seeking a location where he could continue his political activities, ‘Arafat moved to Kuwait, where he found work as an engineer. It was in Kuwait that he met other politically-minded Palestinians, names that read like a “who’s who” of later Palestinian leadership – such as Salah Khalaf (Abu ‘Iyad), Khalil Al-Wazir (Abu Jihad), Mahmud ‘Abbas (Abu Mazin) and Faruq Qaddumi (Abu Lutf). Between 1957 and 1959, these activists had founded the organization that would become known as Al-Fatah.* At that time, the political climate in Kuwait was quite tolerant, so the movement flourished and became the leading Palestinian political organization. In 1965, the political organization became a guerrilla force, launching its first operation on January 1st of that year. ‘Arafat moved to Jerusalem (under control of Jordan).

[pna.gif] After the Arab defeat in the 1967 Six Day War, Al-Fatah and other Palestinian groups formed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). With the loss of Jerusalem to the Israelis, ‘Arafat moved his operations to Jordan. The next year he was elected chairman of PLO. While in Jordan in 1968, it is alleged that ‘Arafat personally led Al-Fatah forces at the battle of Al-Karamah in the Jordan Valley. In this battle, a small Israeli force conducted a punishing hit-and-run raid into Jordan. The Palestinians and Jordanians claim that they forced the Israelis to withdraw.

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