From Arafat to Hamas: Terror Wins Awards

Yasser Arafat, Terrorism, and the Nobel Peace Prize: A Shameful Chapter in History

In 1994, Yasser Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, alongside Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.

Even now, decades later, this remains one of the most disturbing moments in modern diplomatic history. It was a profound betrayal of moral clarity, a signal that the world had lost its compass. Israel, a state that has persistently sought peace with its neighbors, signed the Oslo Accords, hoping to turn conflict into coexistence. In doing so, it opened its gates to the very architects of its suffering—those who identified themselves as Palestinians, under the flag of the PLO and Fatah.

But instead of peace, Israel received deception, betrayal, and bloodshed.

The Oslo Accords marked perhaps the greatest strategic error in Israel’s history. By legitimizing the PLO and Yasser Arafat, the world enabled terrorism to wear a suit, stand behind a podium, and speak the language of diplomacy—while still holding a dagger behind its back.

Can you give a Peace Prize to someone who has presided over decades of terrorism? The answer, tragically, is yes. And if history is any indication, we should not be surprised if Hamas receives a Nobel Peace Prize two years from now—once it inevitably declares a tactical ceasefire and dons a new mask of moderation. Just like Arafat did.

But let us never forget what lies beneath that mask.

Arafat’s Bloodstained Record

Yasser Arafat wasn’t a freedom fighter. He was a terrorist commander, the founding father of Fatah, and the long-time head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). For decades, he orchestrated and supported violence, bombings, hijackings, and massacres that left thousands dead and wounded—not just Israelis, but civilians from all over the world.

Here are just a few of the atrocities carried out under his watch:

• In 1972, at the Munich Olympics, 11 Israeli athletes were brutally murdered by Black September, a Fatah-linked group. Arafat never condemned it.
• In 1974, Palestinian terrorists stormed a school in Ma’alot and slaughtered 25 Israelis—most of them children.
• In 1978, the Coastal Road Massacre claimed the lives of 35 civilians, including women and children, in the deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history.
• In 1985, terrorists hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship and murdered an elderly Jewish American, Leon Klinghoffer, throwing his wheelchair-bound body overboard.

These were not “mistakes of war.” These were deliberate acts of savagery, targeting innocents, designed to instill fear, and to destroy Israel’s will to live.

Arafat didn’t stop them. He enabled them. And he used the international stage to justify them, often cloaking his words in ambiguous rhetoric for Western audiences—while speaking the language of annihilation to Arab crowds.

Time chart of Terror attacks Fatah (Photo credits: ChatGPT May2nd 2025)

His Words Speak for Themselves

Arafat’s real intentions were never secret. They were broadcast for decades. Here are just a few of his statements:

• “The goal of our struggle is the end of Israel, and there can be no compromise or mediation.” — Al-Dustour (1968)
• “Peace for us means the destruction of Israel.” — El Mundo (1970)
• “We shall not rest until we destroy the Zionist entity.”
• “The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel.” — Attributed to Arafat, Trouw (1977)

And yet, despite all of this, he was welcomed in Oslo, dressed in a suit, shaking hands on a lawn while the world looked away from his past.

Taqiya: The Art of Deception

This is where the Islamic concept of Taqiya comes into play. Rooted in the idea of self-preservation, it permits a Muslim to conceal their beliefs when under threat. While its original purpose was to protect the innocent from persecution, it has often been manipulated by extremists as a license to deceive non-Muslims—especially in contexts of war or diplomacy.

This is not a fringe theory. It is a tactic.

It was used to perfection by Arafat: saying one thing in English to the West, and another in Arabic to his people. He understood the game. He lied when necessary, evaded responsibility, and smiled for the cameras while his operatives planted bombs.

Fatah’s Legacy: From Arafat to Abbas

Fatah, the party Arafat founded, continues to rule the West Bank under Mahmoud Abbas. Though it now wears the face of diplomacy, little has changed in its foundational ethos. It remains authoritarian, corrupt, and hostile to peace with Israel. It incites hatred in schools and media and refuses to hold elections for fear of losing to more radical groups like Hamas.

And speaking of Hamas…

Hamas Today: History Repeating Itself?

The horrors that Israel endured on October 7th are still fresh: entire families murdered in their homes, babies beheaded, women raped and paraded through the streets, elderly civilians kidnapped and taken into Gaza.

These were not acts of resistance. They were acts of genocidal cruelty.

And yet, mark these words: if Hamas declares a ceasefire, claims to “recognize” Israel, and shows up in a suit a few years from now, the same international community that applauded Arafat will be ready to applaud them too.

Will the world forget the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri? The slaughter of concertgoers in Re’im? The burning of entire homes with families inside?

Will another terrorist walk the red carpet in Oslo?

History suggests yes.

A Slap in the Face

If that happens—if the leader of Hamas one day waves a Nobel Peace Prize over his head—it will be a slap in the face to every Israeli, and to every family that buried a loved one wrapped in the Israeli flag.

It will be proof that the world has learned nothing.

Peace is sacred. But peace based on lies, manipulation, and moral blindness is not peace—it is surrender.

We must never forget what happened. We must not allow history to repeat itself. And we must not believe the words of those who are capable of committing the most unspeakable horrors.

Am Yisrael Chai—the Nation of Israel lives. And it must never bow to terrorists disguised as peacemakers.