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Ahmed Jibril ( ar, أحمد جبريل; April 1937 – 7 July 2021) was a Palestinian militant, the founder and leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC). During the Syrian Civil War, Jibril was a notable supporter of the Assad government and PFLP-GC members helped government forces to fight the Syrian opposition. However, after clashes with rebels in Yarmouk Camp in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, the PFLP-GC suffered defections and was forced to withdraw from the camp, and Jibril fled the city.


Early life

Jibril was born in Yazur a town near Jaffa in Mandatory Palestine, in April 1937, to a Palestinian father and Syrian mother. Other sources indicate that he was born in 1935 in the city of Ramla. His family moved to
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in 1948, where he was raised. He graduated from the Homs Military Academy and served in the Syrian army from 1956 until 1958, rising to the rank of captain before being expelled as a suspected Communist. In 1959 he founded the Palestinian Liberation Front. Beginning in 1965 he worked closely with the leadership of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), including Yasser Arafat. In 1967 he joined with George Habash to found the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an armed movement that combined
Arab nationalism Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language ...
with leftist ideology, and which was in conflict with Arafat.


Break from the PFLP

In 1968 Jibril broke away from the PFLP because of disputes over the more revolutionary Marxism advocated by Habash and Nayef Hawatmeh. He formed a new organization, the pro-Syrian "The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command" (PFLP-General Command). Jibril never wavered from his belief that Palestine could only be liberated through military attrition. He joined George Habash and other splinter groups which opposed negotiations with the Israeli government. He launched a variety of inventive attacks, including the " Night of the Gliders" on 25 November 1987.


Leader of PFLP-GC

Samuel Katz's ''Israel vs. Jibril'' distinguishes the PFLP-GC and Jibril's strategy from the rest of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) by its emphasis on military training and equipment, and not on declarations and publicity stunts. This caused the group to fail to make a significant mark on the public debate. Since 1994's Oslo Accords, support for the PFLP-GC dwindled among Palestinians. On 7 May 2001, the
Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...
seized a Palestinian boat filled with heavy weapons in the port of
Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
. Jibril is believed to have been behind the shipment of weapons, which were bound for the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
. During the Syrian civil war, the PFLP-GC helped the Syrian Army to fight the Syrian rebels in and around Yarmouk Camp – a district of Damascus that is home to the biggest community of Palestinian refugees in Syria. Several members of the PFLP-GC's central committee opposed this alliance with the government and resigned in protest."Ahmad Jibril to be expelled from the PLO"
. '' Al Akhbar (Lebanon)'', 18 December 2012.
By 17 December 2012, the rebels, which included Palestinians, had won control of Yarmouk. Jibril fled Damascus, reportedly for the Mediterranean city of Tartous. Palestinian left-wing groups—including the PFLP—berated Jibril and the PFLP-GC."PFLP on Defense in Gaza Over Ties to Assad"
. Al-Monitor, 27 December 2012.
One PFLP official said that Jibril "does not even belong to the Palestinian Left. He is closer to the extremist right-wing groups than to revolutionary leftist ones". On 18 December, the Palestinian National Council (PNC) denounced Jibril, saying it would expel him over his role in the conflict. In a 17 February 2017 Al Mayadeen TV interview, the subject expressed his hope that the Iranian military with others would fully back the future Palestinian war against Israel.


Personal life

Jibril's son, Jihad Ahmed Jibril, who headed the PFLP-GC's military wing and was in line to replace Jibril as leader of the group, was killed by a car bomb in
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
on 20 May 2002. Jibril died of
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...
on July 7, 2021, in Damascus, Syria. After a funeral service in the Al-Othman Mosque in Damascus with his coffin draped in the
Palestinian flag The flag of Palestine ( ar, علم فلسطين) is a tricolor of three equal horizontal stripes (black, white, and green from top to bottom) overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. This flag is derived from the Pan-Arab colors and ...
, he was buried in the Martyrs Cemetery of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp.


See also

*
Jibril Agreement The Jibril Agreement ( ar, اتفاقية جبريل, Ittifāqīyat Jibrīl) or "Jibril Deal" ( he, עסקת ג'יבריל, Iskat Jibril) was a prisoner exchange deal which took place on May 21, 1985 between the Israeli government, then headed by Sh ...
*
Kiryat Shmona massacre The Kiryat Shmona massacre was an attack by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command on civilians in the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona on 11 April 1974. Eighteen people were killed, nearly half of the ...


References


External links


Ahmed Jibril and the PFLP-GC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jibril, Ahmed 1937 births 2021 deaths Palestinian Arab nationalists Palestinian militants Palestinian military personnel Palestinians in Syria People of the Syrian civil war Palestinian Liberation Front members Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members Palestinian murderers Arab people in Mandatory Palestine