Kamal Butros Nasser ( ar, كمال ناصر; 1925 – 9 or 10 April 1973) 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 ...

political leader, writer and poet.

Early life

Nasser was born in Gaza in 1924 to a

Palestinian Christian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

family. He was educated at Bir Zeit school (now

Bir Zeit University Birzeit University (BZU; ar, جامعة بيرزيت) is a public university in the West Bank, in the State of Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as charitable organization. It is accredited by the Ministry of H ...

). Then he studied political science at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

and graduated in 1945. Later he worked as a teacher while studying law in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In the period following the

1948 Palestine War The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

, Nasser worked as a journalist.

Political life

He was responsible for producing the al-Ba‘ath newspaper from

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

and also set up ''al-Jil al-Jadid'' (The New Era), a militant newspaper. In 1956 he was elected to Jordanian parliament as Ba‘ath member for Ramallah district. He did not serve out his term as a result of his expulsion from Parliament during the subsequent martial law period in Jordan. Expelled from

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 ...

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 ...

in 1967, Nasser became editor of the PLO newspaper, ''Filastin al-Thawra''. In addition, at that time he became a member of

PLO Executive Committee The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO EC) ( ar, اللجنة التنفيذية لمنظمة التحرير الفلسطينية) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and act ...

from February 1969 to July 1971 serving as an official with the office of National Guidance. In 1970, he was also spokesman for the committee. In addition, he served as spokesman for the PLO.

Death

Nasser was killed in West Beirut on the night of 9 April 1973 by Israeli special forces during an Israeli raid on Lebanon along with

Kamal Adwan Kamal Abdel Hafiz Adwan (1935 - April 10, 1973), also spelt as Kamal Udwan, was a Palestinian politician and one of the top leaders in the Palestinian Liberation Organization. He was killed during a 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon. Early life and ...

and Mohammed Yousef Najjar. All three men were included in

Operation Wrath of God Operation "Wrath of God" ( he, מבצע זעם האל ''Mivtza Za'am Ha'el''), also known as Operation "Bayonet", was a covert operation directed by Mossad to assassinate individuals involved in the 1972 Munich massacre in which 11 members of t ...

target list for their alleged participation in the

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...

Legacy

The main auditorium of

Birzeit University Birzeit University (BZU; ar, جامعة بيرزيت) is a public university in the West Bank, in the State of Palestine, registered by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs as charitable organization. It is accredited by the Palestinian Mi ...

is named after him.

Works

Kamal Nasser was a published poet and a number of his poems have been translated into English, including The Story and The Last Poem.

References

20th-century male writers 20th-century Palestinian poets 1925 births 1973 deaths American University of Beirut alumni Assassinated Palestinian politicians Operation Wrath of God Palestinian Arab nationalists Palestinian Christians Palestinian male poets Palestinian writers People from Gaza City {{Palestine-writer-stub