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Arafat, Yasir

(Encyclopedia)Arafat, Yasir or Yasser yäsērˈ ärˈäfät; –sər [key], 1929–2004, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the coordinating body for Palestinian organizations, and head of Al Fa...

Arafat

(Encyclopedia)Arafat äräfäˈ [key], granite hill, Saudi Arabia, near Mecca. The hill was an ancient pagan sanctuary and is shrouded in many legends. It is a site for prayers during the hajj, the annual Muslim pi...

Al Fatah

(Encyclopedia)Al Fatah: see Arafat, Yasir; Palestine Liberation Organization. ...

Abbas, Mahmoud

(Encyclopedia)Abbas, Mahmoud mäkhmo͞odˈ äbäsˈ, mämo͞odˈ [key], 1935–, Palestinian leader, also known as Abu Mazen. He was born in Saffed, Palestine (now in Israel), but his family fled during the 1948–...

Habash, George

(Encyclopedia)Habash, George, 1925?–2008, Palestinian guerrilla leader. When Israel was established (1948), he fled to Lebanon, where he attended the American Univ. of Beirut (M.D., 1951). He practiced medicine i...

Palestine Liberation Organization

(Encyclopedia)Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), coordinating council for Palestinian organizations, founded (1964) by Egypt and the Arab League and initially controlled by Egypt. Composed of various guerrill...

Rabin, Yitzhak

(Encyclopedia)Rabin, Yitzhak yĭtskhäkˈ räbēnˈ [key], 1922–95, Israeli general and statesman, b. Jerusalem, the first native-born prime minister of Israel (1974–77, 1992–95). His extensive military exper...

Palestinian Authority

(Encyclopedia)Palestinian Authority (PA) or Palestinian National Authority, interim self-government body responsible for areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip under Palestinian control. The terrritory is officially...

Peres, Shimon

(Encyclopedia)Peres, Shimon shēˈmōn pârˈĕs [key], 1923–2016, Israeli politician, b. Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishnyeva, Belarus) as Shimon Perski. His family immigrated to Palestine in 1934; his grandparents, ...

hajj

(Encyclopedia)hajj häj [key], the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, one of the five basic requirements (arkan or “pillars”) of Islam. Its annual observance corresponds to the major holy day id al-adha, itself...

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