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Jamil Mezher | |
|---|---|
جميل مزهر | |
| Deputy General Secretary of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine | |
| Assumed office May 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1964-07-16)July 16, 1964 (age 61) |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Political party | Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine |
| Residence | Gaza Strip (currentlySyria) |
Jamil Mezher (also transliterated fromArabic asMazhar, full nameJamil Saleh Abdullah Mezher; Arabic:جميل صالح عبد الله مزهر; born 16 July 1964), is a socialistPalestinian militant and the Deputy Secretary-General of thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), aMarxist–LeninistPalestinian nationalist organisation, since 2022.[1]
Mezher was born inGaza in 1964, to a family of refugees that settled in theNuseirat refugee camp. He joined thePFLP in 1980, when he was 16 years old.[2] He holds a bachelor's degree in administration. For his activities he was detained by Israeli forces twice, once in 1989, and once in 1992. He began rising through the ranks, and especially following theGaza Civil War betweenFatah andHamas, he became a key part of restructuring the Front's administrative, political and organizational system in the Gaza strip. The PFLP at this time especially in Gaza fell into complete disarray and lost relevance, however, Mezher and others managed to cause a "renaissance" of the PFLP in Gaza by laying the foundations of the Front's organization and solidifying its structure. He eventually became the head of the PFLP in the Gaza strip.[3] During theGaza war of 2008–2009 he was the subject of an Israeli assassination attempt atNuseirat where his home was targeted, which he survived.[4] He played a key part in organizing and establishing several civil societies and charities with leftist and progressive natures.[4] During the Eighth National Congress of the Popular Front in May 2022 he was elected as the Deputy Secretary-General of the PFLP.[5] He played an important role in organizing the PFLP in preparation for, and following the start of theGaza war,[6] and he left the strip a month before its start, forSyria.[7]