The Sandspur

Issue date: 11/19/04 Section: Opinions

Media Credit: THEHOURWELIVEIN.COM

At the age of 75, Yasser Arafat, the central figure in the Palestinian politics for four decades died on Thursday November 11, 2004 at 3:30 a.m. of an unknown illness at a France Military Hospital in Paris. Some believe that he was born in 1929 in Jerusalem of Egyptian parents, while others believe that he was born on August 29, 1929 in Cairo; thus no one really knows of his true origin. As controversial as he was, Arafat represented everything that the Palestinians have been fighting for decades.

In 1958 with the help of Khalil al Wazir and Salah Khalaf, he founded Fatah, the national liberation movement. Arafat managed himself to navigate from being a Nobel Prize Winner to a well-documented terrorist, and from a diplomat to a world statesman. Remember, one's freedom fighter is others' terrorist. It is certain that the Palestinian people have seen in Arafat, someone who can guide them to their goal, which is the foundation of a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its Capital, and of course, help them regain control over territories lost to Israel during the 1973 war.

In his latest book, My Life, President Bill Clinton quoted Abba Eban who once said, "The Palestinians never miss[ed] an opportunity to miss an opportunity" (Clinton 924). So did Arafat? Despite the fact that the Palestinians portrayed him as a messiah and the world accepted him as a world statesman, he missed out on one of the most fundamental principals of politics: compromises; in other words, it is a not zero-sum game. Arafat was not successful in bringing closure to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not ending it, because he always wanted to be one hundred percent satisfied. This is not the reality of life. The reality is, one must be flexible in dealing with political issues.

Obviously, Arafat's successor will have to deal with the biggest challenge ever in this conflict. He would have to try not to fall into an Arafat ambush, which is being too closed-minded or being too nationalistic. To be able to bring a solution to the conflict, he needs to be concerned not just about the safety of his people but also the Israelis. He must be willing to make compromises, as opposed to Arafat and perhaps to Palestinian sentiment. But are the Palestinians ready for compromise? Arafat did not prepare them for this true reality. This is going to be a big risk for the future Palestinian president to take, but a risk worth taking. This move will not be popular among the Palestinians, but it is necessary for a peaceful solution in this conflict.

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