He is not a "saint" in the typical sense of the word, i.e. a Divine Intercessor who performed miracles in his life. He is a "saint" in the sense that although he committed
… horrendous deeds (such as butchering school-children), he is still very positively regarded. The reason that Palestinians have an incredible amount of respect and sometime love for Yasser Arafat is that he is wholly or partially responsible for all of the major gains that Palestianians have made since the Nakba or Great Catastrophe when Israel became a state and many Palestinians fled the area. He coordinated most of the militant/terrorist groups under the PLO umbrella and it was he who commanded the Palestinian militants against Christian Falangists and Israeli soldiers in the Lebanese Civil War. Finally, it was he who helped establish the first Palestinian controlled lands in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. For these reasons, Palestinians celebrate him and ignore his numerous faults. (MORE) 
