Yasser Arafat Overview

Here is Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), as he appeared in 1969. The PLO was founded in 1964.

Yasser Arafat is seen at a frontline area in Jordan on Sept. 25, 1969. Arafat, wearing a commando uniform, carries an automatic weapon slung over his shoulder.

Arafat presents a handmade dress and a mother-of-pearl box to TV newscaster Barbara Walters, after Walters interviewed him in Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 22, 1977.

Arafat, right, plays ping-pong with an aide in west Beirut, Lebanon, July 2, 1982, during Israeli occupation. With the PLO trapped in west Beirut by the Israelis, Arafat had been making regular visits to clubs, hospitals, and camps to boost morale.

Arafat smiles at a refugee child in a Palestinian refugee camp during one of his morale-boosting tours in west Beirut, Lebanon, July 15, 1982 during Israeli occupation.

Arafat gestures during a French radio interview in the city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Nov. 13, 1983.

Arafat, left, speaks to Mother Teresa after presenting her with a check for $50,000 for the work by her Missionaries of Charity, March 28, 1990, in Calcutta.

Pope John Paul II greets Arafat at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo Sept. 2, 1995. Arafat was in Italy for talks with Italian leaders and the Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

Britain's Prime Minister John Major, left, greets Arafat outside London's No. 10 Downing Street, June 3, 1996. Arafat was in Britain for a two-day visit, his first talks in the West since the election of a new hard-line Israeli prime minister which raised doubts over the Middle East peace process.

President Clinton and Arafat laugh during Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's speech at a reception for the Middle Eastern leaders Sept. 28, 1995 in Washington. The Mideast accord was signed earlier in the day.

Arafat shakes hands with Rev. Jesse Jackson, after their meeting at Arafat's office in the West Bank town of Ramallah July 29, 2002. Jackson urged Arafat to abandon terror attacks and to focus on non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation and said that he will visit Gaza to talk to Hamas leaders.

Arafat attends an emergency cabinet session at his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

In this handout photo from the Palestinian Authority, Arafat is seen at his desk in his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah Sept. 23, 2002. A defiant Arafat was dug in at his besieged compound, rejecting Israel's demand to hand over the names of all those inside.

A masked militant of Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade members, a militia linked to Arafat's Fatah movement, wearing a headband which reads "Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade," attends a rally to mark the 38th anniversary of the movement's foundation in Gaza City Dec. 31, 2002.

Arafat salutes during a gathering with supporters in front of his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah Aug. 2, 2004. Hundreds of Palestinians rallied in support of Arafat, who had been under a barrage of criticism over alleged lawlessness and corruption in the Palestinian territories.

In this Aug. 26, 2004 file photo, Arafat writes notes inside his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.