Fu'ad Nassar ( ar, فؤاد نصار, born 1914 in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

), was a Palestinian communist leader. Nassar became associated with the anti- colonial struggle in 1929. He joined the Palestinian Communist Party and was in charge of the military activities of the party during the 1936-1939 insurgency. Led the Nazareth branch of the Palestinian Arab Workers Society. Beinin, Joel.
The Palestine Communist Party 1919 - 1948
', in MERIP Reports, No. 55. (Mar., 1977), pp. 3-17.
Nassar was imprisoned in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. He returned to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

in 1943. With the Palestine Communist Party in crumbles, he and other younger

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

leaders took the initiative to form the National Liberation League. Nassar became the General Secretary of the League. In 1944 the

branch of the Palestinian Arab Workers Society broke away from the mother organization. In the same year, he helped establish the Arab language newspaper ''

Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier * Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...

''. When remaining

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

elements of the League merged into the

Jordanian Communist Party The Jordanian Communist Party (JCP; ar, الحزب الشیوعی الاردنی, ''al-Hizb al-Shuyu'i al-Urduni'') is a communist party in Jordan, founded in 1948. Its current general secretary is Dr. Munir Hamarana. It publishes ''al-Jamahir' ...

in 1951, Nassar became general secretary in the Jordanian party. He was arrested on December 29, 1951 and sentenced to ten year imprisonment. He was released by the Nabulsi government in 1956, but he had to leave Jordan soon thereafter as King Hussein stepped up repression against communists forces.Palestinian Political Parties and Organizations
/ref> With Nassar in exile, a power struggle emerged within the party. The acting general secretary inside Jordan, Fatim as-Salifi, was more prone towards seeking reconciliation with the government. Whilst the sector loyal to as-Salfiti party promoted non-military struggles against

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 ...

, Nassar argued that communists should actively take part in the liberation struggle. Moreover, he opposed

United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 (S/RES/242) was adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on November 22, 1967, in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. It was adopted under Chapter VI of the UN Charter. The resolution was spons ...

. He formed the Ansar Forces, a Palestinian communist militia 1970, under joint command of the Jordanian,

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

and Iraqi parties. The Ansar Forces lasted for three years, and in practice received little assistance from the Jordanian Communist Party. In January 1973, Nassar was the first communist to be adopted into the

Palestinian National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC) ( ar, المجلس الوطني الفلسطيني, "'Almajlis Alwataniu Alfilastiniu"') is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and elects the PLO Executive Committee, which ...

. Nassar died in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassar, Fuad 1914 births 1976 deaths People from Nazareth Palestine Liberation Organization members Palestine Communist Party politicians Jordanian Communist Party politicians National Liberation League in Palestine politicians Palestinian people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Iraq