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George Habash | |
|---|---|
جورج حبش | |
 Habashc. 1969 | |
| General Secretary of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine | |
| In office December 1967 – July 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Abu Ali Mustafa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1926-08-01)1 August 1926 |
| Died | 26 January 2008(2008-01-26) (aged 81) |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Party | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
| Other political affiliations | Arab Nationalist Movement (1951–1967) |
| Alma mater | American University of Beirut |
| Religious background | Greek OrthodoxChristian |
George Habash[a] (1 August 1926 – 26 January 2008)[1][2] was aPalestinian politician and physician who was the founder and first general-secretary of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) from 1967 to 2000.
Habash was born inLydda,Mandatory Palestine, in 1926. In 1948, while he was a medical student at theAmerican University of Beirut, he returned to his hometown of Lydda during the1948 Arab–Israeli War. The city's Arab Palestinian population, including his family, was forcibly driven out in an event known as theLydda Death March, which led to the death of his sister.[3] In 1951, after graduating first in his class from medical school, Habash worked inPalestinian refugee camps inJordan and ran a clinic inAmman. He later relocated to Syria and Lebanon.
In 1967, after being sidelined in thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) byYasser Arafat, he founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, aMarxist–Leninist[4] group opposing theexistence of Israel and advocating for aone-state solution inthe entire region.[5][6] In the 1970Dawson's Field hijackings, Habash masterminded thehijackings of four Western airliners to Jordan, which led to theBlack September conflict and his subsequent exile to Lebanon. Habash remained opposed to a two-state solution even after the PLO signed theOslo Peace Accords in 1993. He resigned as secretary-general of the PFLP due to ill health in 2000, dying of a heart attack in 2008.
He was also known by hiskunya as "al-Hakim" (Arabic:الحكيم,romanized: Al-Ḥakīm,lit. 'The Wise Man' or'The Doctor').[7]
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Habash was born inLydda,Mandatory Palestine to aGreek Orthodox Christian Palestinian family in 1926.[8][9] As a child, he sang in the church choir.[7] In 1948, 19-year-old Habash, a medical student at theAmerican University of Beirut (AUB), went to his home town of Lydda during the1948 Arab–Israeli War to help his family. While he was there, theIsrael Defense Forces attacked the city and as a result, most of its civilian population was forced to leave in what became known as theLydda Death March. They marched for three days without food or water until they reached theArab armies' front lines, which led to his sister's death. Habash and his remaining family becamerefugees and were not allowed to return home. He later finished his education at the AUB and graduated in 1951.[3]
Political thinkers who were influences on Habash at this period includedConstantin Zureiq, whose lectures at AUB on 'Arab nationalism and theZionist danger' in the late 1940s and early 1950s Habash had attended, andSati' al-Husri anArab Muslim intellectual who emphasized national cohesiveness, territorial patriotism, and loyalty to the state, and gave priority toArab unity overIslamic unity.[10]
In 1951, after graduating first in his class from medical school, Habash worked in refugee camps in Jordan and ran a clinic withWadie Haddad in Amman. He firmly believed that thestate of Israel should beended by all possible means, includingpolitical violence.[11] In an effort to recruit theArab world to this cause, Habash founded theArab Nationalist Movement (ANM) in 1951 and aligned the organization withGamal Abdel Nasser'sArab nationalist ideology.
He was implicated in the1957 coup attempt in Jordan, which originated among Palestinian members of the National Guard. Habash was convicted in absentia after having gone underground whenHussein of Jordan proclaimed martial law and banned all political parties. In 1958, he fled toSyria (then part of theUnited Arab Republic [UAR]) but was forced to return toBeirut in 1961 by the tumultuous breakup of the UAR.
Habash was a leading member of thePalestine Liberation Organization until 1967 when he was sidelined byFatah leaderYasser Arafat, with whom he had a complex relationship described as a mix of "camaraderie and rivalry" and "a love-hate relationship".[12][1] In response, Habash founded thePopular 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 theSix-Day War in 1967, disillusion with Nasser became widespread. This prompted the foundation, led by Habash, of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) as a front of several Palestinian factions, like the "heroes of return" and "Palestinian Liberation Front", along with the ANM on 11 December, when he also became its first secretary-general. Habash was arrested byAbd al-Karim al-Jundi and briefly imprisoned inSyria under the accusation of plotting to overthrow the Baathist ruling party in 1968 but escaped with the help ofWadie Haddad who with four others extracted Habash from a maximum security prison whilst disguised asmilitary police.[13] In the same year, he also came into conflict[how?] with long-time ally Wadie Haddad, but both remained in the PFLP.
At a 1969 congress, the PFLP re-designated itself aMarxist movement. Its pan-Arab leanings have been diminished since the ANM days, but popular support for a united Arab front has remained, especially in regard to Israeli and western political pressures. It holds a firm position regarding Israel, demanding its complete eradication as a racist state through military struggle and promotes aone-state solution (one secular, democratic, non-denominational state).[citation needed]
The 1969 congress also saw an ultra-leftist faction underNayef Hawatmeh andYasser Abd Rabbo split off as the Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP), later to become theDemocratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). During Habash's time as secretary-general, the PFLP became known as one of the most radical and militant Palestinian factions and gained world notoriety after a string ofaircraft hijackings and attacks against Israel affiliated companies as well as Israeli ambassadors in Europe mostly planned by Haddad. The PFLP's pioneering of modern international terror operations brought the group, and the Palestinian issue, onto newspaper front pages worldwide, but it also provoked intense criticism from other parts of the Palestine Liberation Organization. In 1970, Habash was evicted from Jordan due to the key role of the Popular Front in theBlack September clashes. In 1974, thePalestinian National Council adopted a resolution recognizing a two-state solution to theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict[citation needed] and Habash, who opposed this, formed theRejectionist Front from several other opposition parties.
Habash aligned the PFLP with the PLO and theLebanese National Movement, but stayed neutral during theLebanese Civil War in the late 1970s. After a stroke in 1980, when he was living inDamascus, 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 asHamas and theIslamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, that became prominent during theFirst Intifada. In 2000, he resigned from his leadership post of the PFLP due to poor health and was succeeded byAbu Ali Mustafa. He continued to be an activist for the group until 2008 when he died of a heart attack inAmman.
The PFLP ignored tensions with the mainstream leadership ofYasser Arafat'sFatah 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".[14]
In the 1970Dawson'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 theBlack September crackdown, which came close to destroying the PLO. The hijackings ledHussein of Jordan to carry out a major offensive against militant strongholds in his kingdom resulting in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians.[15] In autumn 1970, Habash visited Beijing. After Black September, the PLOfedayeen relocated to Lebanon.
In 1972, Habash experienced failing health and gradually began to lose influence within the organization. ThePalestinian National Council's (PNC) adoption of a resolution viewed by the PFLP as atwo-state solution in 1974, prompted Habash to lead his organization out of active participation in the PLO and to join the Iraqi-backedRejectionist Front. Only in 1977 would the PFLP opt to rejoin, as the Palestinian factions rallied their forces in opposition toAnwar 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.
After the signing of theOslo Peace Accords in 1993, Habash and the PFLP again broke completely with Arafat, accusing him of selling out the Palestinian revolution. The group set up an anti-Arafat and anti-Oslo alliance in Damascus, for the first time joined by non-PLOIslamist groups such asHamas and thePalestinian Islamic Jihad, which had grown to prominence during theFirst Intifada. After finding the position sterile, with Palestinian political dynamics playing out on theWest Bank andGaza areas of thePalestinian National Authority (PNA), Habash carefully sought to repair ties to Arafat, and gain a hold in post-Oslo politics without compromising PFLP principles. However, there is no indication that he ever accepted the two-state solution. This balancing act could not save the PFLP from being eclipsed by the militant Islamist factions on the one hand, and the resource-rich Fatah with its PNA patronage network on the other. The significance of the PFLP in Palestinian politics has diminished considerably since the mid-90s. The PFLP participated in thePalestinian legislative elections of 2006 as Ahmad Sa'adat won 4.2% of the popular vote.
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 byAbu Ali Mustafa who was assassinated by Israel during theSecond 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.
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.[16] ThePresident of the Palestinian National Authority,Mahmoud Abbas called for three days of national mourning.[11] Habash was buried in a suburban cemetery of Amman with the obsequies of theEastern Orthodox Church.[17] 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".[11]Hamas leader and dismissed Palestinian Prime MinisterIsmail Haniyeh sent his condolences, saying Habash "spent his life defending Palestine".[17]
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