Yasser Arafat Under Siege: The Last Years in the Muqataa
For almost three years, the Palestinian leader was confined to his battered compound in Ramallah. His isolation shaped the end of his life and the succession that followed.
In the spring of 2002, at the height of the second intifada, Israeli forces surrounded the Muqataa, Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, and demolished much of the compound around him. For most of the rest of his life, the Palestinian leader did not leave it. He was confined by Israeli tanks and by the threat that if he left, he might not be allowed back.
Why he was isolated
Israel's government under Ariel Sharon held Arafat responsible for the violence of the intifada, and the United States declared that he was no longer a partner for peace. The siege was meant to sideline him politically as well as physically. Under international pressure, Arafat agreed in 2003 to appoint a prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, though the two men clashed repeatedly over control of the security services.
Life in the compound
Arafat governed from a few rooms amid the rubble, receiving visitors, activists and diplomats. For many Palestinians, the images of their leader besieged made him a symbol of steadfastness again, even as they criticised the corruption and disorder of his administration.
Death and questions
In October 2004 Arafat fell seriously ill. He was flown to a military hospital near Paris, where he died on 11 November 2004. The cause of his death has never been conclusively established. Later investigations into the possibility of poisoning with polonium produced conflicting findings.
Legacy of the siege
Arafat's isolation cleared the way for a transition to Abbas, who was elected president in January 2005. It also showed the limits of a strategy aimed at replacing one leader rather than addressing the conflict itself. The intifada ended, but the underlying issues remained unresolved.