Zahwa arafat biography channel

Suha Arafat was born in Jerusalem in 1963 but raised in Nablus and later in Ramallah by her father, an affluent banker, and her mother, a prominent activist, journalist and poet.

Raised a Catholic, Suha was influenced by her mother’s political activism for the Palestinian cause and from the age of 18 moved to Paris to study while living with one of her sisters.

During her time as a student in France, Suha organised demonstrations for the Palestinian cause, as a leader in the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS).

Suha, her sisters and mother already knew Arafat when he came for a visit to France in 1989, during which Suha acted as an interpreter at meetings with French officials.

Shortly after the visit, Suha was asked to work for Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in exile in Tunis.

On July 17, 1990, at the age of 27, she secretly married Arafat (61) after s