By Daoud Kuttab

In the spring of 1994 I had the privilege of having an exclusive interview with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was still in Tunis at the time and the interview was arranged for me by three local West Bank leaders I knew, Marwan Barghouti, Jibril Rajoub and Samir Sbeihat, who had been deported by Israelduring the first Intifada.

The PLO leader had signed a few months earlier the Oslo Accords and my friends were part of Arafat’s entourage that was preparing for the triumphant return.

The three had spent time in Israeli jails and knew Hebrew fluently, and thus were key to the important transition that was taking place.

As was customary, the Palestinian leader never gave a particular interview time; one needed to wait around until he would call one in.

I knew from colleagues that he often gave interviews late at night.

While waiting for the interview, I spent a few days with the three Palestinian youth leaders (and also interviewed them) in preparation for the big interview.

The young West Bank leaders had talked to me about their belief that the movement they belonged to, Fatah, should undergo major change. As Palestinians were preparing for statehood, they argued, it made perfect sense for Fatah to become a political party.

Around midnight I was called in. Present during the interview were the three Palestinians, as well as one of Arafat’s advisers,Khaled Salam, who would later become a controversial figure in Palestine. Continue Reading »