High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Death of Yasser Arafat occurred on 11 November 2004. Arafat had been the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) from 1996 and long-time Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1968. French doctors who were treating him stated that he died from a massive haemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident, although other people have offered different theories.