PLO leader Yasser Arafat dies

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a man either resented as a
terrorist or respected as the symbol of the struggle of the
Palestinian people, died Wednesday of unknown causes at the age of
75.

Arafat, formally known as Mohammed Yasser Abdul-Ra’ouf
Qudwa Al-Hussein, was being treated in a military hospital in Paris
since Oct. 29. The exact condition of his health was disputed until
the announcement of his death.

The fate of the Palestinian leadership is also unknown. For the
time being, former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas will take control
of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, while current Prime
Minister Ahmed Qureia will maintain his position in charge of
day-to-day governing. Rauhi Fattouh will be sworn in as interim
Palestinian Authority president.

Faysal Saab, president of the UCLA United Arab Society, said the
new leadership may bring about internal stability.

“Now that Abbas is the main man, there may be less
internal struggle for power. … But we can’t tell if things
will get better,” Saab said.

The question remains as to the effect that the new leadership
will have on Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Andy Green, president of the UCLA Jewish Student Union, said he
hopes the transition of power “provides an opportunity for
peaceful resolution.”

“I’m an optimist … but realistically I just
don’t know,” Green said.

Israel immediately sealed off the West Bank and Gaza strip
following news of Arafat’s death, but some violence has
already broken out in the region.

Suha Arafat, Arafat’s wife of 14 years, had spent the past
several days accusing top Palestinian officials of trying to
“bury” her husband alive. UCLA political science
Professor Steven Spiegel said the officials came to see
Arafat’s status for themselves. Suha had been controlling the
access and information as to the health of her husband.

“The way Arafat’s condition was being handled with
all of the rumors and innuendo was reflecting badly upon the
Palestinian authority,” Spiegel said. “They wanted it
taken away from Suha Arafat’s control.”

The death of Arafat may also unveil some of the mystery
surrounding the funding of the PLO and Arafat’s personal
fortune, which Forbes magazine estimated at $300 million in
2003.

President Bush said “the death of Yasser Arafat is a
significant moment in Palestinian history.”

Arafat began his involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
at the age of 17 in 1946, when the region was still a British
Mandate, by smuggling arms to the Palestinians to use against both
the Jews and the British.

In 1958, he founded Al-Fatah, a secret network that supported
armed Palestinian struggle against the Israelis. In 1964, he
relocated to Jordan, organized Fatah raids into Israel and founded
the PLO. In 1969, Arafat became the most important figure to the
Palestinian cause as the chairman of the PLO executive committee, a
position he held until his death.

When the PLO was expelled from Jordan, Arafat moved the
organization to Lebanon and then to Tunisia.

In 1974, Arafat gave justification for the use terrorist
tactics, telling the United Nations that “the difference
between the revolutionary and the terrorist lies in the reason for
which each fights. Whoever stands by a just cause and fights for
liberation from invaders and colonialists cannot be called
terrorist.”

The tactics of the PLO took a major turn in 1988, when they
renounced terrorism. Arafat told the United Nations that “I,
as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, hereby once
more declare that I condemn terrorism in all its forms”.

Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo
Accords in 1993, an unprecedented agreement between the Israelis
and Palestinians for which they received the Nobel Peace Prize in
1994.

But the promise of peace following the accords has yet to be
realized and increased violence has broken out in recent years. The
Israeli and U.S. governments have blamed Arafat for the violence,
and in 2002, Bush said in a speech that it was time for the
Palestinians “to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised
by terror.”

Green said Arafat has left “a legacy which failed to make
peace when former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered over 90
percent of the lands that they wanted.” Green was referring
to the negotiations that took place at Camp David in July of
2000.

Saab, though, believes that the “ball has been in
Israel’s court.”

Nothing will change because the Palestinian leadership is
powerless until the Israelis take the step toward peace, Saab
said.

The funeral for Arafat will be held today in Cairo, Egypt.
Assistant Secretary of State William Burns will officially
represent the United States at the funeral. Arafat’s body
will then be moved to Ramallah where he will be buried with a
funeral procession.

With reports from Bruin wire services.