Read complete books and articles on: Yasser Arafat

Arafat, Yasir - yäsērˈ ärˈäfät; –sər, 1929–, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the coordinating body for Palestinian organizations, and head of Al Fatah, the largest group in the PLO. He was born in Jerusalem. After smuggling arms to Arab forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Arafat entered Cairo Univ., where he became chairman of the Palestine Student Federation. He served in the Egyptian army during the Suez campaign (1956) and the following year moved to Kuwait, where he trained Palestinian commandos and edited Our Palestine magazine.

Arafat joined the Al Fatah commando group and in 1965 returned to Egypt to head Al Assifa, the military arm of Al Fatah. He went on to become leader of Al Fatah, and when the group gained control of the PLO (1969), Arafat was named the larger body's chairman. The PLO won wide support among Palestinians and third-world nations during the 1970s and 80s, although it was weakened by internal divisions. In 1983, after an Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the PLO was forced to move its headquarters to Tunisia.

In 1988 the PLO, under Arafat's leadership, in effect renounced terrorism and accepted Israel's right to coexist with an independent Palestine. A 1993 accord with Israel led to limited Palestinian self-rule in Jericho and the Gaza Strip (see Gaza) in 1994, and Arafat became president of the Palestine National Authority. Arafat, Shimon Peres, and Yitzhak Rabin shared the 1994 Nobel peace prize for the 1993 accord. A 1995 agreement called for self-rule for all Arab cities and villages in the West Bank by 1996; Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian-controlled territory in 1996.

In 1999, Arafat and Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak signed an agreement to finalize their borders and determine the status of Jerusalem by 2000. The difficulty of resolving, however, those issues stalled negotiations and led (Sept., 2000) to renewed violence. In that fighting, Israel, which accused Arafat of responsibility for Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians, at times endangered Arafat's personal safety and enhanced his support among Palestinians. Disillusionment with Arafat's leadership led the Palestinian parliament in 2003 to establish the post of prime minister in a largely unsuccessful attempt to reduce his power.

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11 of the Best Books and Articles on: Yasser Arafat

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography » Read Now
by Barry Rubin, Judith Colp Rubin. 354 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Yasir Arafat stands as one of the most resilient, recognizable and controversial political figures of modern times. The object of unrelenting suspicion, steady admiration and endless speculation, Arafat has occupied the center stage of Middle East politics for almost four decades. Yasir Arafat is...
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Yasir Arafat stands as one of the most resilient, recognizable and controversial political figures of modern times. The object of unrelenting suspicion, steady admiration and endless speculation, Arafat has occupied the center stage of Middle East politics for almost four decades. Yasir Arafat is the most comprehensive political biography of this remarkable man. Forged in a tumultuous era of competing traditionalism, radicalism, Arab nationalism, and Islamist forces, the Palestinian movement was almost entirely Arafat's creation, and he became its leader at an early age. Arafat took it through a dizzying series of crises and defeats, often of his own making, yet also ensured that it survived, grew, and gained influence. Disavowing terrorism repeatedly, he also practiced it constantly. Arafat's elusive behavior ensured that radical regimes saw in him a comrade in arms, while moderates backed him as a potential partner in peace. After years of devotion to armed struggle, Arafat made a dramatic agreement with Israel that let him return to his claimed homeland and transformed him into a legitimized ruler. Yet at the moment of decision at the Camp David summit and afterward, when he could have achieved peace and a Palestinian state, he sacrificed the prize he had supposedly sought for the struggle he could not live without. Richly populated with the main events and dominant leaders of the Middle East, this detailed and analytical account by Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin follows Arafat as he moves to Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and finally to Palestinian-ruled soil. It shows him as he rewrites his origins, experiments with guerrilla war, develops a doctrine of terrorism, fights endless diplomatic battles, and builds a movement, constantly juggling states, factions, and world leaders. Whole generations and a half-dozen U.S. presidents have come and gone over the long course of Arafat's career. But Arafat has outlasted them all, spanning entire eras, with three constants always present: he has always survived, he has constantly seemed imperiled, and he has never achieved his goals. While there has been no substitute for Arafat, the authors conclude, Arafat has been no substitute for a leader who could make peace.
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2.

The Mystery of Arafat » Read Now
by Danny Rubinstein, Dan Leon. 140 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

How has it happened that this man who is mistrusted by other Arab leaders and disliked by many of his own Palestinian colleagues has managed to stay in place as leader of a national movement for nearly twenty years? The enigma that is Arafat is explored in this probing exploration by one of Israel's...
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How has it happened that this man who is mistrusted by other Arab leaders and disliked by many of his own Palestinian colleagues has managed to stay in place as leader of a national movement for nearly twenty years? The enigma that is Arafat is explored in this probing exploration by one of Israel's finest journalists about whose previous book on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Edward Said wrote "a rare Israeli attempt at sympathetic understanding of the Palestinian tragedy.
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3.

Yasir Arafat, in Foreign Policy » Read Now
by Dennis B. Ross. 6 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...and Tony Walker explore the role that Arafat played in defining modern Palestinian nationalism in Behind the Myth: Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Revolution (London: W...
4.

The Arafat Interview: Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat Spoke Exclusively to Mariam Shahin for The Middle East Magazine, in The Middle East » Read Now
by Mariam Shahin. 4 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...interview: Palestinian authority chairman Yasser Arafat spoke exclusively to Mariam Shahin...What has happened to that peace? ARAFAT: The Saudi initiative has put...
5.

Brief History of Yasir Arafat: The PLO Leader Is a Terrible Administrator but a Brillant Image Crafter, in The Atlantic Monthly » Read Now
by David Brooks. 3 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
6.

Dictionary of Terrorism (Discussion of Yasser Arafat begins on p. 17) » Read Now
by John Richard Thackrah. 318 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Terrorism is one of the primary concerns of the modern world and is increasingly becoming a major factor in all international relations in the 21st century. This revised and updated second edition of a major reference work in the area contains definitions and descriptions of all aspects of terrorism...
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Terrorism is one of the primary concerns of the modern world and is increasingly becoming a major factor in all international relations in the 21st century. This revised and updated second edition of a major reference work in the area contains definitions and descriptions of all aspects of terrorism and political violence, including: * individual terrorists * terrorist organisations * terrorist incidents * countries affected by terrorism * types of terrorism * measures against terrorism * forms of political violence * history of terrorism * psychology of terrorism
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7.

Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993 » Read Now
by Yezid Sayigh. 953 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Armed Struggle and The Search for State spans an entire epoch in the history of the contemporary Palestinian national movement, from the establishment of Israel in 1948, to the PLO-Israel accord of 1993. Contrary to the conventional view that national liberation movements proceed with state-building...
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Armed Struggle and The Search for State spans an entire epoch in the history of the contemporary Palestinian national movement, from the establishment of Israel in 1948, to the PLO-Israel accord of 1993. Contrary to the conventional view that national liberation movements proceed with state-building only after attaining independence, the case of the PLO shows that state-building may shape political institutionalisation, even in the absence of an autonomous territorial, economic, and social base. This insightful study traces the political, ideological, and organisational evolution of the PLO and its constituent of guerrilla groups. Taking the much-vaunted 'armed struggle' as its connecting there, it shows how conflict was used to mobilise the mass constituency, assert particular discourses of revolution and nationalism, construct statist institutions, and establish legitimacy of a new political class and bureaucratic elite. The book draws extensively on PLO archives, official publications and internal documents of the various guerrilla groups, and over 400 interviews conducted by the author with he PLO rank-and-file. Its span, primary sources and conceptual framework make this the definitive work on the subject.
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8.

Peace with Justice: A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements » Read Now
by Andrew S. Buchanan. 429 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Peace with Justice is an analysis of the political, legal and economic viability of the current Israeli NPLO peace process, and an evaluation of the agreements made between 13 September 1993 and 17 January 1997.
9.

In the Leaders' Words September 13, 1993: Bill Clinton,Shimon Peres, Mahmoud Abbas, Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat, in Middle East Policy » Read Now
by Anne Joyce. 15 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...MAHMOUD ABBAS, YITZHAK RABIN, YASSER ARAFAT 1. IN THE LEADERS WORDS...MAHMOUD ABBAS, YITZHAK RABIN, YASSER ARAFAT The following remarks were...and to all Israel. Amen...
10.

Leadership and Negotiation in the Middle East (Chap. 4 "The PLO's Yasser Arafat") » Read Now
by Barbara Kellerman, Jeffrey Z. Rubin. 302 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This volume takes as its central organizing principle the thesis that national leaders are generally the key actors in international politics and conflict management. Therefore efforts to contain, manage, and reduce international conflicts through negotiation will be significantly enhanced through...
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This volume takes as its central organizing principle the thesis that national leaders are generally the key actors in international politics and conflict management. Therefore efforts to contain, manage, and reduce international conflicts through negotiation will be significantly enhanced through the availability of detailed information about the leading players. These essays evaluate this hypothesis through a detailed analysis of the major national leaders during the events of June-September 1982 in Lebanon, which began with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and culminated in the establishment of an international peace-keeping force in West Beirut.
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11.

U.S.-PLO Dialogue: Secret Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution » Read Now
by Mohamed Rabie. 212 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

In December 1988 the United States announced its decision to start a dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization. A year and a half later, it suspended the dialogue. In the months between, two men with no government ties, Mohamed Rabie and William Quandt, were catalysts in the short-lived...
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In December 1988 the United States announced its decision to start a dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization. A year and a half later, it suspended the dialogue. In the months between, two men with no government ties, Mohamed Rabie and William Quandt, were catalysts in the short-lived talks. This memoir explains in detail their efforts to persuade both the United States and the PLO to focus on "shared" objectives, the difficulties encountered by all sides, and the disappointment they experienced as the talks were suspended. Rabie also discusses the developments that led to the U.S.-PLO dialogue and the activities that made it a reality, offering insights into the decision-making process within the PLO as well as an analysis of prominent PLO personalities.
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