Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest (Paperback)

The reader cannot fail but be impressed by the depth of knowledge and experience upon which this book is founded. An incisive, thought-provoking, penetrating exposé of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that surgically excises any propaganda to reveal a discerning revelation of the "man and his mission". An immensely readable & well argued book commendably drawing upon Arabic, Hebrew and English language sources and which holds the reader's attention on every page. A book which will undoubtedly draw much reaction from all sides of the political spectrum.

This book is "strong medicine" and the reader will be immediately aware that the book does not pull any punches with Arafat being described on the cover as a "bloodthirsty terrorist with no respect for human lives, impervious to his own peoples needs & aspirations" whilst being absolutely committed to "Israel's destruction".

It is virtually impossible to refer to all the issues covered in a review alone. However, the book opens with a description of the establishment of the PLO in 1964 when the areas of the "West Bank" and Gaza were already under Arab rule, leaving the reader to assess what "Palestine" actually needed "liberating". At the outset the book cites on page 10 that Yasser Arafat himself does not even conform to what his "own" definition of a "Palestinian" is. This is discussed at some length but essentially reveals that Yasser Arafat (born Muhammad Abdel Rahman Abdel Rauf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, in Cairo, Egypt on August 24 1929) had never resided in "Palestine" prior to 1947 as required in the Palestinian National Covenant "definition", or indeed at any subsequent time until his arrival in the Gaza Strip in 1994. Many may find this a most interesting analysis on it's own merits.

Another important issue in this study is Arafat's alleged rejection of Palestinian "statehood" in 2,000. Arafat is accused here of being far more interested in the PLO's historic goal of "Israel's destruction" than in establishing any Palestinian state or the interests of his own people.

Further to this the book provides details of what it portrays as Arafat's effort, since the Oslo Peace Accords, to build an extensive terrorist infrastructure, together with the "failure" to disarm Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Something recounted as being simultaneous with the pursuit of a systematic effort to indoctrinate the Palestinian population (through the official Palestinian Authority media/education syllabus) with a hatred of Israel & it's people through rumour and religious zealotry. The book further details how this policy has produced what it cites as a level of violence unmatched in scope and intensity since the re-birth of the Jewish state in 1948. The book's study on these particular issues contains creditable detail, is enormously interesting and is worthy of a study all of it's own.

Crucially, this work relates that Arafat's alleged "disingenuous" approach to the "peace process" and it's culmination in terrorism and violence, is just as much a betrayal of his "own" people who he purports to defend, as it is a betrayal of his Israeli peace partner.

Whatever your views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this is a book without which any individual's library on the Middle East would be incomplete. Highly recommended. Thank you for your time.

For example the book refers on page 10 to Yasser Arafat being born in Cairo, Egypt in August 1929, and that he had never resided in "Palestine" prior to 1947 as required in the Palestinian National Covenant "definition" of a Palestinian.
Some people might think this relevant, except of course the book doesn't remind the readers that most modern Israelis were born abroad as well.

This examplifies the bias of the writer.

The book includes some less known facts, but because it fails to mention related facts (like in the example above), one is left with the feeling that the writer is interested in proving his own beliefs, as opposed to writing an unbiased view.