He is not a "saint" in the typical sense of the word, i.e. a DivineIntercessor who performed miracles in his life. He is a "saint" inthe sense that although he committed horre
…ndous deeds (such asbutchering school-children), he is still very positively regarded. The reason that Palestinians have an incredible amount of respectand sometime love for Yasser Arafat is that he is wholly orpartially responsible for all of the major gains that Palestianianshave made since the Nakba or Great Catastrophe when Israel became astate and many Palestinians fled the area. He coordinated most ofthe militant/terrorist groups under the PLO umbrella and it was hewho commanded the Palestinian militants against ChristianFalangists and Israeli soldiers in the Lebanese Civil War. Finally, it was he who helped establish the first Palestiniancontrolled lands in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. For thesereasons, Palestinians celebrate him and ignore his numerous faults. (MORE)