Yasir Arafat was born Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini. His parents were of Palestinian descent but lived in Egypt when he was born. His mother died when he was quite young and he remarked that his childhood was not a pleasant one. His father remarried and his stepmom did not like him at all. He was an expert in creating a better version of his life than the truth as I have realized after learning more about the man. “The alternative life story he created became the pattern for the many false tales he would spin in the future.” (Rubin, page 14) He was obsessed with some of his family history that stemmed back to some of his family members working alongside Hitler and so he made sure to learn all he could about him. Even though Arafat was born in Egypt he never claimed that as his birthplace. He told everyone he was born in Palestine even after they would see his birth certificate with Egypt written on it. He became obsessed with Palestine and its future.
The Jews living in Germany after World War I believed that Palestine was their Zion that they needed to get to. So between 1933-1939 about 60,000 Jews were able to safely immigrate there and away from Hitler and his increasing desire to rid the world of all the Jews. The Arabs living in Palestine disagreed and believed that Palestine belonged to them and not the Jewish people. Arafat was a strong proponent of the idea that Palestine was an Arab state and did not belong to the Jewish people. He wanted to liberate Palestine from its increasing population of Jews and this kickstarted his terrorist/revolutionary ideas.
As a 27-year-old man, he graduated with an engineering degree, no previous employment experience, and no wife and kids. He started wearing a kaffiya (headscarf) and military uniform and his signature stubble on his face. He created a group called the Palestinian Liberation Movement, Fatah for short which translates into conquest, to take Palestine back from the Jews. He blended revolutionary doctrine with Islam, Marxism-Leninism, Arab nationalism, and third-world radicalism. With his engineering degree, he started a contracting business as a front to hide that he in fact was a political revolutionary instead. Between 1969 and 1985 alone more than 8000 terrorist attacks were perpetrated by Arafat and his followers. Most of them were in Israel killing more than 650 Israelis, 28 Americans, and dozens of people from other countries as well. He was determined to drive the Jews out of Palestine and “to create and maintain an atmosphere of strain and anxiety that will force the Zionists to realize that it is impossible for them to live in Israel.” (Rubin, page 41) To accomplish this he went to the Soviet Union and after telling them he hated the Americans they agreed to supply him with weapons in secret that he could use to drive out the Jews.
“He was so adept at concealing his links with terrorism and avoiding any penalty for such behavior that western intelligence officials were beginning to call him the Teflon terrorist.” (Rubin, page 57) He would be able to brag about killing the U.S. Ambassador to Sudan and then laugh it off. He would pretend to not know what they would be talking about and never take responsibility for any of the attacks so that he could not be implicated. He quickly figured out that he could be a terrorist and diplomat at the same time. He was an honored guest to a U.N. General Assembly even after it was known that he was responsible for many terrorist attacks. It showed him that his terrorism was working and that he could keep doing it. He would negotiate peace treaties and then turn around days later to violate them. The United States even brokered a peace treaty at Camp David as they were eager to end his terrorist reign. He did everything he could to sabotage the agreement and he would use anti-Americanism to block its progress. He made sure to avoid direct conflict with the United States as he talked big and always turned his defeats into victory portraying himself as the victor and victim at the same time. “Arafat continued his traditional policy of seeking to destroy Israel through violence.” (Rubin, page 93)
“Unable to win victory and unwilling to seek compromise, Arafat faced an apparent dead end. For the first time in twenty years of his political career, Arafat had moved up and down, back and forth, east and west, left and right. But he had not really advanced closer to his ultimate goal.” (Rubin, page 99) He clung to leaders such as Saddam Hussein who promised to conquer Israel for him. Hussein was willing to forgo diplomacy and use force to achieve that. Arafat again forgot about his promise to end terrorism as he used anthrax, chemicals, and missiles from Hussein to attempt to achieve his goals.
In 1994 Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister negotiated a peace deal that would give Arafat an independent Palestine 5 years from the date. “With no superpower ally, few Arab friends, and near bankruptcy, Arafat seemed to have only one remaining option: to make peace.” (Rubin, page 127) President Clinton invited him to Washington D.C. and they held the peace signing ceremony on the White House lawn. The people in Palestine elected Arafat as their leader and he was one step closer to achieving his goal. “One of the main reasons many had expected the peace process to succeed was the belief that actually governing a territory - being responsible for schools, roads, and garbage collection - would force Arafat to become more pragmatic in order to deliver benefits for his people.” (Rubin, page 153) Arafat preferred his old ways. He tolerated other terrorist groups from occupying his state and didn’t stop them when they created chaos and violence. He actually defended them and turned a blind eye. A second peace treaty on the White House lawn was assembled where Arafat actually denounced terrorism for the first time.
Back home he ruled with a mix of dictatorship, pluralism, repression, conciliation, weakness, and tight control. He controlled everything from the money in his state to the law and how people would be sentenced. July 24th 2000 Arafat was once again in deliberations with President Clinton where a peace treaty was proposed that would give him everything he ever wanted. He refused which made Clinton extremely upset. He kept offering him more and more to reach an agreement but Arafat refused every single thing Clinton offered. Arafat returned home where uprisings were started and hundreds of people lost their lives. He was unwilling to stop the violence in his state and so unwilling to sign a peace treaty. He rejected every proposal that was sent his way as he wanted it all or nothing. He was not willing to compromise at all and made it well known. He simply requested another summit at a later date to continue negotiations even after he was offered everything he could ever want. “Arafat saw violence as an alternative to negotiations, as a way to get what he wanted either by intimidation or defeating his foe.” (Rubin, page 203) In 2001 Arafat went to the White House to accept a proposed plan. When he got there he pretty much wanted everything changed in the plan before he would accept it. Ultimately the new plan was rejected again. “One of Arafat’s greatest skills was his ability to convince so many that he really wanted peace but had been cheated and victimized by others.” (Rubin, page 215) Arafat had spent many years as a revolutionary, chief of his own group, leader over his people, and a head of government and he had nothing to show for it all. He had shown that defeat could be portrayed as a victory and that he could play the victim brilliantly but that was all. He was a master manipulator who fooled his people for a very long time into thinking he had their best interests in mind.
“Was Arafat then a successful leader or a disaster to his people? Surely, he took the Palestinians from the depths of defeat and humiliation to receiving extraordinary attention and often sympathy from the world. He almost single-handedly created Palestinian nationalism. He kept the movement going, mobilized Arab support, but ensured its independence. He took the Palestinians through many disasters and even back to the part of the homeland they claimed. He attained international legitimacy and made the world forget time and time his previous reprehensible actions. It was a remarkable work of political art over an incredible length of time.” (Rubin, page 251) The fact that he was rewarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to create peace in the middle east is laughable to me. I consider him to be a terrorist who was good at manipulating those around him. He enjoyed chaos and bloodshed and thrived on being in the limelight. He did not have the peoples best interest in mind as he kept refusing to broker peace. He would throw tantrums like a five year old when things did not go his way. To me Yasir Arafat was a terrorist and never a freedom fighter since he only cared about himself and achieving his goals and not those of the people he governed.
Source:
Barry M. Rubin, Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2003)
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
