Yasser Arafat

Introduction
Early life
Creation of Fatah
Toward diplomacy
From agreement to the second intifada
Legacy

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The Israelis and the Palestinians: A Century of Conflict

Map showing the United Nations partition plan for Palestine adopted in 1947, with areas color-coded to indicate proposed Jewish state, Arab state, and a separate Jerusalem district. The map includes key cities and regions, borders with Lebanon, Syria, Transjordan, and Egypt, and highlights the Mediterranean coast.

Oslo Accords: Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-Rule

Discover a historical milestone in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship with the signing of the Declaration of Principles, 1993

Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin: Nobel Prize

At a Glance

Yasser Arafat summary

Related Questions

How did Fatah’s view of Palestinian liberation differ from Pan-Arabism?
How did Hamas oppose Yasser Arafat’s agreements with Israel?
How did Syrian-backed PLO factions challenge Yasser Arafat’s leadership in the 1980s?
How did Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination affect the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
How did the PLO’s recognition of UN resolutions change its policy toward Israel?
How did the Palestine Liberation Organization become involved in the Lebanese Civil War?
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What goals did Fatah have when Yasser Arafat founded it?
What happened at the Madrid Conference of 1991?
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When and where was Yasser Arafat born?
When did Yasser Arafat become chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization?
When did Yasser Arafat help found Fatah?
When was Yasser Arafat elected president of the Palestinian Authority?
Where did Yasser Arafat establish the PLO headquarters after leaving Lebanon?
Where did Yasser Arafat study civil engineering?
Which United Nations resolutions did Yasser Arafat’s PLO recognize in 1988?
Which cities were first transferred to Palestinian Authority administration in 1994?
Who succeeded Yasser Arafat as chairman of the PLO and president of the Palestinian Authority?
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Why did Yasser Arafat share the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres?
Why did Yasser Arafat try to maintain unity among Palestinian groups in the PLO?
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Why did the PLO proclaim the State of Palestine in 1988?
Why did the Palestine Liberation Organization become more influential after 1967?
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Why were there investigations into whether Yasser Arafat had been poisoned?
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External Websites

BBC News - Yasser Arafat 'may have been poisoned with polonium'
Jewish Virtual Library - Biography of Yasser Arafat
The Guardian - Yasser Arafat: why he still matters
NPR - Ariel Sharon, Whose Life And Career Shaped Israeli History, Dies
CNN World - Yasser Arafat Fast Facts
The Nobel Prize - Yasser Arafat
CBC News - Arafat Timeline
PBS - FRONTLINE - FRONTLINE Interview: Yasser Arafat (2002)
CBS News - Arafat: One Man, Many Legacies
Brookings - Is Yasser Arafat a Credible Partner for Peace?
Al Jazeera - Profile: Yasser Arafat
ABC News - Yasser Arafat: Natural leader, master myth-maker
NBC News - Yasser Arafat, a legacy of tenacity

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Yasir Arafat - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Yasir ʿArafat - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Yasser Arafat

president of Palestinian Authority

Also known as: Abū ʿAmmār, Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Raʾūf al-Qudwah al-Ḥusaynī, Yāsir ʿArafāt(Show More)

Written by

Alain Gresh

Journalist and editor of Le Monde Diplomatique.

Alain Gresh

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026 •History

Yasser Arafat (born August 24?, 1929 [see Researcher’s Note], Cairo?, Egypt—died November 11, 2004, Paris, France) was the president (1996–2004) of the Palestinian Authority (PA), chairman (1969–2004) of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and leader of Fatah, the largest of the constituent PLO groups. In 1993 he led the PLO to a peace agreement with the Israeli government. Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres of Israel were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace...

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