Yaser Arafat

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat died this past Thursday November 11th, 2004 at 3:30 a.m. while hospitalized in Paris.

Arafat was first flown to a military hospital in Paris on October 29th for medical assistance. The French quickly discovered through testing that he had a low count of blood platelets, which are required for clotting.

On November 3rd Arafat had fallen into a comma and was put on a respirator. Soon after on Tuesday November 9th he suffered a brain hemorrhage. On Thursday when he passed on he suffered multiple organ failure including his liver and kidneys.

The Palestinian leader leaves behind a wife of 13 years, Suha Tawil and a daughter born in 1995, Zahwa.

Arafat was born August 24th 1929 in Cairo, Egypt. For 40 years Arafat led the Palestinian people in their struggle to reclaim certain land from the Israelis and to make Palestine an independent state.

The Israelis thought of Arafat as a terrorist while the Palestinians thought of him as a hero, which has obviously got emotions flowing heavily on either side of the spectrum at this moment in time.

Arafat founded of the Fatah in 1958 which was referred to as a terrorist group by the Israelis, who were the group’s main target. To the Palestinians Fatah members were freedom fighters.

In 1969 Arafat was the elected the chairman of the PLO, an umbrella group of Palestinians worldwide. He continued to lead the Palestinian people for many years until his recent death.

When news of Arafat’s death reached the 3.6 million Palestinians throughout the territories in the Gaza Strip and West bank people began flooding the streets reciting from the Koran, firing guns, and waving Palestinian flags.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat was quoted saying ““heartbreaking” that Arafat died before achieving his goal of an independent Palestinian state, “and the Israeli occupation of our land has not finished yet.” But he said Arafat managed to preserve Palestinian national identity...