Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh () was a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
engineer, academic and member of
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
. He was assassinated on 21 April 2018 in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, while heading to a mosque for dawn prayers.
Biography
While living in Gaza, he was employed by the Energy Authority and was a resident of
Jabalia city.
He received a PhD in electrical engineering from the
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
in 2015 and during the course of his study, published 18 scholarly pieces of research featured in a number of international journals. In 2016 he received an award from the Malaysian treasury. Fadi was also an imam and involved with Islamic organizations such as MyCARE.
Al-Batsh was a lecturer in electrical engineering at the Universiti Kuala Lumpur British-Malaysian-Institute (UniKL BMI).
He had been living in Malaysia since 2011.
Assassination
On 21 April 2018, he was shot dead by two gunmen on a motorcycle on a street in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. His family has accused
Mossad of being responsible for the killing but
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
has denied any involvement in the assassination.
Reactions
Hamas chief
Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyeh; sometimes transliterated as Haniya, Haniyah, or Hanieh (born 29 January 1962) is a senior political leader of Hamas and formerly one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority. Hani ...
called his killing a "terrible crime" and attributed it to
Mossad. Batsh's uncle Jamal al-Batsh also blamed "The Israeli Mossad", claiming that they stood behind the assassination of educated people and intellectuals because Israel "knows Palestine will be liberated by scientists."
Israeli Defence Minister
Avigdor Lieberman
Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...
said "The man was no saint and he didn’t deal with improving infrastructure in Gaza - he was involved in improving rockets’ accuracy ... We constantly see a settling of accounts between various factions in the terrorist organizations and I suppose that is what happened in this case."
Malaysian Home Minister
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Dato' Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi ( ms, أحمد زاهد بن حميدي, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; born 4 January 1953) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 11th and 14th Deputy Prime Minister from July 2015 t ...
said Fadi was "believed to have become a liability for a country hostile to Palestine".
Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) chairman Associate Professor Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor said Fadi was an expert in renewable energy sources, especially in regards to generator engineering. “Since news of his killing broke, all sorts of sensational news regarding Fadi has come out, including allegations in foreign media that he was an expert in making rockets and drones. Such news is absolutely not true.“ “Fadi was a man who loved peace... why would he take the risk of putting himself, his family and other Palestinians here in Malaysia at risk by getting involved in arms manufacturing, as proposed (by foreign media)?” Hafidzi further stated that Fadi had an excellent professional and academic record in the field of renewable energy and had dreamed of contributing to the development of Palestine. “We don’t deny the possibility that his achievements and his capabilities had perhaps made him a target for Israeli Zionists. In fact, before this he had mentioned his worry that he would be attacked by Apache helicopter gunships back in Palestine, and mentioned that 18 members of his extended family had been killed in Gaza in 2009 alone.“
[ https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/04/360428/palestinian-lecturer-killed-setapak-was-no-rocket-drone-maker-nsttv 'Palestinian lecturer killed in Setapak was no rocket, drone maker' by N. H. Bahaudin, April 22, 2018]
Personal life
Fadi was married and has three children.
See also
*
Nidal Fat'hi Rabah Farahat
''Nidal Fat’hi Rabah Farahat ( ar, نضال فتحي رباح فرحات, ) (8 April 197116 February 2003) created the Qassam rocket, a homemade weapon produced by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
After the Intifada, Farahat was arrested foll ...
*
Operation Wooden Leg
Operation "Wooden Leg" ( he, מבצע רגל עץ, ''Mivtza Regel Etz'') was an attack by Israel on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headquarters in Hammam Chott, near Tunis, Tunisia, on October 1, 1985. With a target 1,280 miles (2,0 ...
*
Khalil al-Wazir
Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir Standardized Arabic transliteration: '' / / '' ( ar, خليل إبراهيم الوزير, also known by his '' kunya'' Abu JihadStandardized Arabic transliteration: ' —"Jihad's Father"; 10 October 1935 – 16 April 1 ...
*
Salah Khalaf
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place = Carthage, Tunisia
, death_cause = Assassination
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coord ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batsh, Fadi Mohammad al-
1983 births
2018 deaths
Hamas members
Assassinated Hamas members
Assassinated Palestinian people
University of Malaya alumni
People from Jabalia
Palestinian electrical engineers