Arafat, Yassir

(1929-2004) Former leader of the Al Fatah wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization. In 1974 he produced a plan for a Jewish and Palestinian secular state and in 1988 renounced terrorism. He became head of the PLO in 1989 and participated in the 1993 Oslo Accords. The following year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He supported Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War, angering his backers in the Arab world. He was elected head of the Palestine National Authority in 1996.