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Ramadan Shalah | |
|---|---|
رمضان شلح | |
 Ramadan Shalah in 2016 | |
| Secretary-General of theIslamic Jihad Movement in Palestine | |
| In office 27 October 1995 – 27 September 2018 | |
| Deputy | Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh |
| Preceded by | Fathi Shaqaqi |
| Succeeded by | Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shalah (1958-01-01)1 January 1958 |
| Died | 6 June 2020(2020-06-06) (aged 62) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Resting place | Yarmouk Camp, Syria |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Political party | Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine |
| Alma mater | Durham University (Ph.D.) |
| Profession | Professor ofEconomics |
Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed Shalah (Arabic:رمضان عبد الله محمد شلح; 1 January 1958[1] – 6 June 2020) was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as the leader ofPalestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from 1995 to 2018.
On becoming secretary-general of PIJ, Shalah was designated aSpecially Designated Terrorist (SDT) by the United States on 27 November 1995.[2] In 2006, he was placed on the United StatesFBI Most Wanted Terrorists list.[3]
In April 2018, Shalah suffered a series of strokes, and on 28 September 2018 was replaced byZiyad al-Nakhalah as PIJ leader.
During the 23 years of his leadership of PIJ, the group undertooknumerous attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings; and has suffered extensive operations against its infrastructure carried out by theIDF, which resulted in severe losses to the group, and it appeared significantly weakened by 2004.[4][5]
Shalah was born inShuja'iyya, a neighborhood inGaza City.[6] Shalah earned aPh.D. in banking andeconomics from theUniversity of Durham in England.[3][7]
ProfessorSami Al-Arian helped bring Shalah to theUniversity of South Florida, inTampa, Florida, where Shalah taught as an adjunct professor.[citation needed] Al-Arian and Shalah founded an Islamic think tank, World and Islamic Studies Enterprise (WISE). Shalah left the organization in 1995 to headPalestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).[8]
In February 2003, al-Arian, Shalah and five others were indicated by the United StatesDepartment of Justice for supporting the PIJ and relatives of operatives who committed attacks against civilians in Israel.[8] Al-Arian pled guilty to helping PIJ and was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Al-Arian said he was shocked to learn Shalah was "anything other than a scholar."[9]
Shalah became PIJ secretary-general 1995 after the assassination of its previous leaderFathi Shiqaqi inMalta. On becoming secretary-general of PIJ, the United States named Shalah aSpecially Designated Terrorist and offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction on 27 November 1995.[6]
In 2003, Shalah,Abd Al Aziz Awda, and six others were indicted in a 53 count indictment in theUnited States District Court for the Middle District of Florida onRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges of alleged involvement in racketeering activities for PIJ, a US-designated international terrorist organization, which had conductedsuicide bombings that killed Israeli and American civilians.[6][10] Shalah was wanted for conspiracy to conduct the affairs of the PIJ through a pattern of racketeering activities such as bombings, murders, extortion, and money laundering.[3]
For that indictment, Shalah then became one of six alleged and indicted terrorist fugitives among the second and most recent group of indicted fugitives to be added to the United StatesFBI Most Wanted Terrorists list on 24 February 2006,[3] along with Abd Al Aziz Awda.[6]
In 2018, Shalah was transferred from his home in Damascus to a hospital in Beirut. He died on 6 June 2020 in Lebanon after a long illness that included two years in acoma.[6] His funeral was held inDamascus and was attended byZiyad al-Nakhalah, who had replaced him as head of thePIJ movement.
His writings include:[11]
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