Member of the Free Officers Movement that led the July 1952 Revolution in Egypt

I have known Arafat since 1950, when I met at the Reserve Officers Training Centre. This center provided training and rehabilitated students to serve as reserve officers and allowed Palestinian students to receive training along with their Egyptian peers. At that time, Yasser Arafat was a student at the Faculty of Engineering. Since his first days in the center, Arafat was enthusiastic. He engaged in political conversations and became very popular. He loved Egypt so much. His style was similar to that of the members of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

With the emergence of the Fatah Movement, Arafat became well-known. Our relationship tightened, and we became friends. 

Abu Ammar was a significant Arab national symbol. He established Fatah, recruited comrades and urged them to fund the movement so that they would be at no one’s mercy. With his peers, Abu Ammar began their military activity and launched armed operations. They then added political activity, which demonstrated that they understood – from an early stage – that political struggle was necessary to obtain recognition. Facts showed that Arafat was an intelligent man. To conclude the Oslo Accords is an example of his genius. He forced Israel to recognize that the Palestine Liberation Organization was the sole representative of the Palestinian people. He returned to his homeland and was buried in Ramallah. This is a significant achievement.