Editing Yasser Arafat (section)

===Education===
In 1944, Arafat enrolled in the [[Cairo University|University of King Fuad I]] and graduated in 1950.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/> At university, he engaged Jews in discussion and read publications by [[Theodor Herzl]] and other prominent Zionists.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yasser Arafat: Homeland a dream for Palestinian Authority Chief|url=http://www.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Yasser.Arafat/student.storypage.html|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=5 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011118060808/http://www.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Yasser.Arafat/student.storypage.html|archive-date=18 November 2001|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1946, he was an [[Arab nationalism|Arab nationalist]] and began procuring weapons to be smuggled into [[Mandatory Palestine]], for use by [[Irregular military|irregulars]] in the [[Arab Higher Committee]] and the [[Army of the Holy War]] militias.<ref>{{harvnb|Rubenstein|Leon|1995|page=[https://archive.org/details/mysteryofarafat00rubi/page/38 38]}}</ref>

During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], Arafat left the university and, along with other Arabs, sought to enter [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] to join Arab forces fighting against [[Haganah|Israeli troops]] and the creation of the state of Israel. However, instead of joining the ranks of the [[Palestinian fedayeen]], Arafat fought alongside the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], although he did not join the organization. He took part in combat in the Gaza area (which was the main battleground of [[Military of Egypt|Egyptian forces]] during the conflict). In early 1949, the war was winding down in Israel's favor, and Arafat returned to Cairo due to a lack of logistical support.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>

After returning to the university, Arafat studied [[civil engineering]] and served as president of the [[General Union of Palestinian Students]] (GUPS) from 1952 to 1956. During his first year as president of the union, the university was renamed Cairo University after a [[1952 Egyptian revolution|coup]] was carried out by the [[Free Officers Movement (Egypt)|Free Officers Movement]] overthrowing [[Farouk of Egypt|King Farouk I]]. By that time, Arafat had graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and was called to duty to fight with Egyptian forces during the [[Suez Crisis]]; however, he never actually fought.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/> Later that year, at a conference in [[Prague]], he donned a solid white [[keffiyeh]]–different from the fishnet-patterned one he adopted later in [[Kuwait]], which was to become his emblem.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/46 46]}}</ref>