Greater Middle East

The outlined region shown here is called ‘Greater Middle East’ or ‘Greater Syria’. It was Yasser Arafat’s dream to unite the entire Middle East into one huge state that could challenge even the world superpowers, like The United States of America. Yasser Arafat preached this dream to the world, and some believe that he was close to achieving it. However, several issues such as the different dialects, currencies, and even cultures prevented him from making his dream possible. Also, not all of the Arab countries had good relations with each other, or good internal relations. So Arafat would not live to see the day that the Arab states would unite, however there is still hope, as with each new generation, there is more desire for unity in the Middle East.

Gaza, Palestine; President of the PNA

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was created in 1993. The Oslo Accords were signed on 13 September 1993 between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel. This is what created the PNA. The PNA was the government of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the Jordan River. Yasser Arafat did his most peaceful acts during the period that he was affiliated with the PNA. He was the president of the PNA in 1996, two years after he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He has a lot of power in that year and position, however, he did not succeed in doing much for Palestinian people. What he was most known for in this period was keeping the Palestinian cause alive.

Madrid, Spain; First Peace Talks Between Israelis and Palestinians

As was mentioned before, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) wasn’t only a violent group. They did many peaceful things in Palestine and Israel, the most memorable of these occurred in Madrid, Spain. Here, there were the first ever peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Yasser Arafat made these peace talks happen, and this is one major reason why he one the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. It was awarded to him “for his efforts to create peace in the Middle East.” And although these first talks weren’t successful, it set a precedent of peace between the two nations which would be followed, then broken in later years.

PLO, Based in Amman, Jordan

In Yasser Arafat’s life, perhaps his biggest accomplishment was becoming the president of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO did many things in the Middle East Region to help Palestine. The PLO was based in Amman, Jordan. The PLO was a real government organization, which gave it more power amongst the people of the Middle East as well as Israel. Some attacks from the PLO were memorable, such as their bombing on Swiss-Air flight 330, bound for Tel-Aviv. Fourty-nine people were killed in this bombing, but not all of the PLO’s acts were bad, they did some peaceful things, even making a treaty with Israel.

Fatah and Attacks on Israel from Jerusalem, Palestine

From Jerusalem, Palestine, Yasser Arafat organized most of his attacks upon Israel. Yasser Arafat’s group was called Fatah, they had the method of ‘armed struggle’ to try to take out Israel. From the period between 1965 and 1967, Fatah carried out many bombings and attacks on Israeli villages, water pipes, railways, and homes. One memorable one was the explosives planted at Mitzpe Massua and on the road to Jerusalem. Many Israelis were killed in these attacks. In the July of 1968, Fatah joined a group called the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which Arafat would later, in 1969, become the president of.

Cairo, Egypt

Yasser Arafat was born here, and he spent most of his childhood here as well. He studied at King Fuad Cairo University and his major was engineering. While he was studying in Cairo, he was recruited by Gamal Abdul Nasser to be the leader of the Palestinian student union. This inspired him to later be the leader of several other Palestinian Organizations, or at least to be a good leader. He met many of his friends and future partners while he was here. These partners would eventually help him create organizations in Palestine that would change the world and Palestine.

Google Map - Yasser Arafat

I have created a Google Map of some important events in Yasser Arafat's life. Click here to visit it.