Yasser Arafat Foundation has commemorated the 13th anniversary of the passing of the late President Yasser Arafat at Ramallah Cultural Palace on November 10, 2017.

The Yasser Arafat Achievement Award 2017 was presented to His Eminence Sheikh Mohammad Hussein and His Beatitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah in recognition of their continuous contributions to Palestine and its Capital Jerusalem.

Altayeb Abdel Rahim, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Presidency, members of the Executive Committee of the PLO and Central Committee of Fatah, Arab and international ministers and ambassadors attended the commemorative ceremony. 

In his welcoming remark, Dr. Nasser Alkidwa, Chairman of the Board of YAF, said: “We meet on this national occasion to reaffirm our loyalty to the journey of Yasser Arafat and follow in his footsteps to resist all hardships that beset our country.” 

He also added that “We should remain committed to our identity and national goals because we are the indigenous people of the land; we are the people of the State of Palestine whose independence has been declared and recognized by the world.”

Alkidwa continued “Our central national goal is to achieve an independent State of Palestine along the 1967 borders and its Capital Jerusalem and to achieve Palestinian refugees’ right of return.  We should confront the Israeli occupation to protect our country because this occupation aims to steal lands and destroy the Palestinian national existence.  Therefore, we have to organize our power against this threat that represents a complex war crime committed by Israel, the occupying power.”

During the past 10 years since its establishment, Yasser Arafat Foundation has been faithfully committed to its mission to preserve the memory of the late leader, maintain and benefit from his legacy, transmit to future generations and continue his path of amity and promote the Palestinian people’s achievement. It has been committed to its main objectives, which primarily include the collection of his significant archive, including documents, photographs, videos, and belongings, and organizing and preserving it for public accessibility–a significant amount of this ongoing process has been accomplished.