YASSER ARAFAT: 22 YEARS SINCE THE DEATH OF THE FACE OF PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
On this day, 11 November 2004, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in a French military hospital aged 75, closing a defining chapter in the Palestinian struggle for independence.
For decades, Arafat was the internationally recognised face of the Palestinian cause, leading the Palestine Liberation Organization and later serving as president of the Palestinian Authority.
His journey took him from armed struggle to peace negotiations. In 1994, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres for their efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
But the independent Palestinian state he sought had not been established when he died.
Twenty-two years later, his legacy remains inseparable from the Palestinian pursuit of statehood.