George Habash
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George Habash جورج حبش | |
---|---|
General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine | |
In office December 1967 – July 2000 | |
Succeeded by | Abu Ali Mustafa |
Personal details | |
Born | Greek Orthodox Christian | 1 August 1926
George Habash (
Habash was born in
In 1967, after being sidelined in the
Early life
Habash was born in Lydda (today's
Political thinkers who were influences on Habash at this period included Constantin Zureiq, whose lectures at AUB on 'Arab nationalism and the Zionist danger' in the late 1940s and early 1950s Habash had attended, and Sati' al-Husri an Arab Muslim intellectual who emphasized national cohesiveness, territorial patriotism, and loyalty to the state, and gave priority to Arab unity over Islamic unity.[9]
In 1951, after graduating first in his class from medical school, Habash worked in refugee camps in Jordan and ran a clinic with Wadie Haddad in Amman. He firmly believed that the state of Israel should be ended by all possible means, including political violence.[10] In an effort to recruit the Arab world to this cause, Habash founded the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM) in 1951 and aligned the organization with Gamal Abdel Nasser's Arab nationalist ideology.
He was implicated in the 1957 coup attempt in Jordan, which had originated among Palestinian members of the National Guard. Habash was convicted in absentia, after having gone underground when Hussein of Jordan proclaimed martial law and banned all political parties. In 1958 he fled to Syria (then part of the United Arab Republic), but was forced to return to Beirut in 1961 by the tumultuous breakup of the UAR.
Habash was a leading member of the Palestine Liberation Organization until 1967 when he was sidelined by Fatah leader Yasser Arafat, with whom he had a complex relationship described as a mix of "camaraderie and rivalry" and "a love-hate relationship".[11][1] In response, Habash founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
In 1964 he began reorganizing the ANM, regrouping the Palestinian members of the organization into a "regional command." After the
At a 1969 congress, the PFLP re-designated itself a
The 1969 congress also saw an ultra-leftist faction under
Habash aligned the PFLP with the PLO and the Lebanese National Movement, but stayed neutral during the Lebanese Civil War in the late 1970s. After a stroke in 1980, when he was living in Damascus, his health declined and other PFLP members rose to the top.
After the Oslo Agreements, Habash formed another opposition alliance of Rejectionists, including Islamist organizations such as
Black September
The PFLP ignored tensions with the mainstream leadership of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, and instead focused on bringing about revolutionary change in Jordan. Habash expressed the opinion that what proceeded was not "only military but also psychological warfare" and one had to "hold the Israelis under permanent pressure".[13]
In the 1970 Dawson's Field hijackings, Habash masterminded the hijackings of four Western airliners over the United States, Europe, the Far East and the Persian Gulf. The aircraft were forced to fly to a World War II airfield in Jordan, the passengers and crews were disembarked and the planes were then blown up.
The Dawson's Field hijackings were instrumental in provoking the
In 1972, Habash experienced failing health and gradually began to lose influence within the organization. The Palestinian National Council's (PNC) adoption of a resolution viewed by the PFLP as a two-state solution in 1974, prompted Habash to lead his organization out of active participation in the PLO and to join the Iraqi-backed Rejectionist Front. Only in 1977 would the PFLP opt to rejoin, as the Palestinian factions rallied their forces in opposition to Anwar Sadat's overtures towards Israel, pro-U.S. policies and fragmentation of the Arab world. During the Lebanese Civil War that broke out in 1975, PFLP forces were decimated in the battle against Syria. Later, the PFLP would draw close to Syria, as Syria's government shifted, but PFLP involvement in the Lebanese war remained strong until the US-negotiated evacuation of PLO units from Beirut in 1982 and continued on a smaller scale after that.
Oslo Agreements
After the signing of the
In the late 1990s, Habash's medical condition worsened. In 2000 he resigned from the post as secretary-general, citing health reasons. He was succeeded as head of the PFLP by Abu Ali Mustafa who was assassinated by Israel during the Second Intifada. Habash went on to set up a PFLP-affiliated research center, but he remained active in the PFLP's internal politics. Until his death he was still popular among many Palestinians, who appreciate his revolutionary ideology, his determination and principles, the rejection of the Oslo Agreements and his intellectual style.
Death
Habash died on 26 January 2008, at the age of 81 of a heart attack in the Jordan Hospital, Amman, where Habash was a cancer patient.[15] The President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas called for three days of national mourning.[10] Habash was buried in a suburban cemetery of Amman with the obsequies of the Eastern Orthodox Church.[16] Abbas said Habash was a "historic leader" and called for Palestinian flags to be flown half-mast. Abdel Raheem Mallouh, PFLP deputy secretary-general, called Habash a "distinguished leader... who struggled for more than 60 years without a stop for the rights and the interests of his people".[10] Hamas leader and dismissed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh sent his condolences, saying Habash "spent his life defending Palestine".[16]
References
- ^ a b Andoni, Lamis (13 July 2009). "Habash: The bearer of the dream". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "ذكرى ميلاد حكيمُ الثورة وضميرُها.. القائد المؤسّس جورج حبش" [The Anniversary of the Birth of the Hakim of the Revolution and its Consciousness, the Founding Leader George Habash]. Al-Hadaf (in Arabic). 1 August 2023. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023.
- ^ Hirst, David (27 January 2008). "George Habash". The Guardian.
- ^ جدلية, Jadaliyya-. "George Habash: A Profile From the Archives". Jadaliyya - جدلية.
- ^ a b Kazziha, Walid, Revolutionary Transformation in the Arab World: Habash and his Comrades from Nationalism to Marxism. p. 17–18
- ^ "Arab Gateway: Palestine Who's Who (C-M)". Archived from the original on 21 April 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-313-26213-5.
- ^ Macleod, Scott (28 January 2008). "Terrorism's Christian Godfather". Time. Archived from the original on 29 January 2008.
- ^ Harold Cubert, The PFLP's Changing Role in the Middle East, p.30
- ^ a b c "Palestinian radical founder dies". BBC News. 26 January 2008.
- ^ Levy, Gideon (15 April 2018). "This Biography Makes It Clear: The Founder of the Palestinian Popular Front Was Right". Haaretz. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- OCLC 27974606.
- ^ ‘'Aziya i Afrika segodnya'’ – cited in edition ‘'Välispanoraam 1972'’, Tallinn, 1973, lk 129 (‘'Foreign Panorama 1972'’)
- ^ Cnaan Liphshiz (27 January 2008). "Tales of Black September". Haaretz.
- ^ Edmund L. Andrews; John Kifner (27 January 2008). "George Habash, 82, founder of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "PFLP founder George Habash dies". Al Jazeera. 28 January 2008.
External links
- A balance-sheet of the Intifada, an interview with George Habash, 1990
- A Visit With : Still the Prophet of Arab Nationalism and Armed Struggle Against Israel, By Grace Halsell, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 1998, pages 49, 136
- BBC Obituary
- Obituary in The Times, 28 January 2008
- Obituary in The Guardian, 29 January 2008
- George Habbash, short overview on auhrenia.com – dead link checked Sept 21, 2014