""Hope" is irrelevant - all that matters is what is. The only hope that Arafat had was to renounce idolatry and embrace Jesus Christ as savior. He did not do that, choosing instead to live a life of hatred. To hold the belief that Arafat is in hell, all that is required is a belief in God's word. "
I tend to believe his life as a murderer is more of a factor in his fate than whether or not he believed the NT.
Hell is not a blanket, one size fits all, state. There are degrees of punishment in hell just as there are rewards in heaven. God is just - Arafat is getting what he deserves.
The question at hand is, should that cause me joy? The fact that people reject Christ and therefore are condemned to hell for eternity grieves God, as it should all believers. It is necessary, nevertheless.
Also, if he had believed in the NT it would have caused a remarkable change of heart evidenced by his actions. Belief is not just "head knowledge." Real belief causes a change in behavior. Had he believed, he would not have acted so despicably and he would have most definitely been rejected by his own people.