The PLO plotted and conducted many of its raids into Israel from Jordan. But in 1970, Jordan's King Hussein cracked down on the outfit, killing 10,000 Palestinians, and forcing Arafat to flee to Lebanon, reportedly disguised as a woman.
In 1974, the Arab League recognised the PLO as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," and the UN invited Arafat to address its General Assembly.
Speaking with a pistol tucked into his belt, Arafat said he had come "bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand."
PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin pose with their Nobel Peace prize in the Oslo City Hall, December 10, 1994.
Photograph: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images
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