Jerusalem: The Biography

* Faisal Husseini, the son of Abd al-Kadir, emerged as one of the leaders of the Intifada. Husseini had trained as a Fatah explosives expert and spent years in Israeli jails, the essential badges of honour for any Palestinian leader, but, released from prison, he was one of the first to come round to talks with the Israelis, even learningHebrew to put his case more clearly. Husseini attended the Madrid talks and now became Arafat’s Palestinian minister for Jerusalem. When the Oslo Accords fell apart, the Israelis confined him to Orient House before eventually closingit down. When he died in 2001, buried like his father on the Haram, the Palestinians lost the only leader who could have replaced Arafat.