Many saw him as a evil monster, many others saw him as a hero for the cause he fought his whole adult life. Arafat passed away from kidney failure in Paris at the age of 75.

Born Rahman Abdel-Raouf Arafat Al-Qudwa, disputed if it was Egypt or Palestine, he was thrown into a war in 1948. He was only 19. He emerged as their leader and he was put in the world spotlight in 1974 at the UN where he delivered his speech that included, ''Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.''

Where his master plan for the region he was fighting for has been interpreted in two ways. Israel have believed he wanted their destruction. Palestine saw it as a man who wanted to claim land that was taken away from them due to bad policies from the newly formed United Nations. That is where the notion one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter took off. He fought also for a land they had left that his people thought was being taken away by Israel. Many attempts were made on Arafat's life and survived a horrific airplane crash. He has gotten a teflon status.

His later years were actually where many believed he shined. He started to understand that maybe it is best to end 40 years of fighting. At the time, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was the man that would help see that path. Many probably did not know that Rabin was a great man. He wanted peace and in 1994 Arafat and Rabin signed the impossible, an accord to end the fighting. they with Simon Peres won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. Two years later, Rabin was assassignated.

There was peace for 6 years until Ariel Sharon took over as the Prime Minister of Israel. A former fighter, he was not about peace. Fighting erupted at it's worst. Arafat was confined in house arrest type rules and saw the conditions of his nation deteriorate.

Arafat got this mystery illness out of no where and there are rumors of poisoning. He will be buried in Ramallah, near where he was living, Israel rejected to have him buried in Jerusalem. Egypt has offered to let the memorial service be held there if Israel causes more problems.

Arafat was left behind by a nation, now uncertain about the future.