Couple of articles on Yasser Arafat:

A Thorn in Sharon's Side.
Life without Arafat.
Arafat, I wish you full recovery.

Hopefully he recovers.

One of the great problems in the question of Palestine, that especially in Israeli and the West that more or less supports Israel - even EU supports Israel, as it pays the bill of Israel´s occupation and constant attacks in the occupied areas even if under international law these things are for Israel to pay - personalities play are far larger share then they should have. US, Great Britain and Israel claim that they will not negotiate with Arafat, even if all but the most partisan commentators tell them again again that no other Palestinian leader will be ready for less favourable peace agreement. But still they don´t get it. The support that monster like Ariel Sharon enjoys among Israeli public and the Americans is not about what he does, because what has he to show for his long career except tens of thousands of dead people? No, it´s about his public personality. The Israelis think that this strongman will protect them and the Americans, ever the worshippers of men who shoot first and ask later, see in him a man who does what he things he has to do and who doesn´t care how much blood he has to shed on all sides. To him only the goal matters and this fact the Israeli public doesn´t get. They think that he cares about the lives of Israelis. But he doesn´t care. He cares for Israel, I admit that, or more to the point, he cares about the kind of Israel he wants, but he isn´t a man who ain´t ready to throw few Israelis to lions if that´s what makes his goal to become closer.