There was a promise of a new world order in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War. Negotiations resumed, which would lead to a historic return to their homeland for the PLO leadership. But the challenges of nation-building proved overwhelming and new political forces were emerging within Palestinian society that would threaten the role and the relevance of the PLO. In spring 2002, Israeli forces surrounded Arafat's headquarters. Arafat held out until October, when he was struck down by a mystery illness and eventually died in a Paris hospital.