Israeli forces have demolished the house in the Gaza Strip that houses the memory of Yasser Arafat, the undisputed leader of the Palestinian liberation struggle.
The Palestinian Ministry of Culture confirmed this information. It is known that Arafat, the former president of the Palestinian Authority, lived in that house from 1995 to 2001.
Last Thursday (February 22), Palestinian Minister of Culture Atif Abu Saif said that the occupation forces destroyed the house of PLO founder Yasser Arafat as part of the ongoing Israeli aggression and destruction.
He also said that Israel destroyed the house in order to erase the symbol of the Palestinian people’s dignity and struggle. He said that Arafat’s personal and family belongings are there. This house has witnessed numerous important moments in the history of our people during its presence in Gaza during the inception of the Palestinian Authority. He also mentioned that Arafat lived in this house from 1995 to 2001.
As chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization or PLO, Arafat fought the Israeli occupation throughout his life. For much of his life, Arafat led the secular Fatah party. He founded this group between 1958-1960. Although initially totally against the existence of Israel, Arafat later changed his position by accepting the decision of the United Nations Security Council in 1988.
From 2002 to late 2004, Arafat was under virtual house arrest by the Israeli military in his office in Ramallah. In late 2004, Arafat became ill, and slipped into a coma.
The cause of Arafat’s illness and death is not precisely known; But according to doctors, she was suffering from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and cirrhosis.
On November 11, 2004, 75-year-old Yasir Arafat died while undergoing treatment in Paris, the capital of France. It is believed that he was killed by the Israeli spy agency Mossad.
