Yasser Arafat

Rehman Abdul Rauf Arafat Qudwa Al Husseini (Arabic: محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), commonly known as Yasser Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات) or his nickname (كنية; Kunya) Abu Ammar (Arabic: أبو عمار, 'Abū `Ammār), leader of the Palestinian liberation movement, Palestinian leader, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and leader of Fatah, the largest faction of the PLO, and chairman of the Palestinian National Authority after its establishment in 1994. He was one of the recipients of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. Arafat is a highly controversial figure. Many Palestinians consider him a national hero, while some Israelis consider him a terrorist. Some Islamists and left-wing elements of the PLO also criticized him, believing that he had "made too many concessions" to the Israeli government and that his regime also had corruption problems.