Arafat museum recovers Nobel prize from Hamas

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 1994 file photo, PLO leader Yasser Arafat, left, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, centre, and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres pose with their medals and diplomas, after receiving the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo's City Hall. Nasser al-Qidweh, nephew of Yasser Arafat says the Hamas militant group has returned the late Palestinian leader’s 1994 Nobel Peace Prize to the Palestinian government in the West Bank. al-Qidweh said Tuesday that the medal will be among dozens of Arafat’s belongings to be displayed in a new museum opening in Ramallah on Nov. 9. Qidweh is president of the Arafat Institute. (AP Photo, File) (The Associated Press)

RAMALLAH, West Bank – A relative of Yasser Arafat says the Hamas militant group has returned the late Palestinian leader's 1994 Nobel Peace Prize to the Palestinian government in the West Bank.

Nasser al-Qidweh, Arafat's nephew, said Tuesday that the medal will be among dozens of Arafat's belongings to be displayed in a new museum opening in Ramallah on Nov. 9. Qidweh is president of the Arafat Institute.

Arafat shared the Nobel prize with then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for reaching the 1993 Oslo interim peace agreement.

Arafat died in 2004, and three years later many items at his Gaza headquarters were lost when the rival Hamas militant group seized control of the territory.

Al-Qidweh said the only missing piece that Hamas has returned was the medal.