Yahya Sakher Habash ( ar, صخر حبش, 10 November 1939 – 1 November 2009), also known as Abu Nizar,
was one of the
Fatah
Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
founding leaders.
Early years and education
Habash was born in
Bayt Dajan
Bayt Dajan ( ar, بيت دجن, Bayt Dajan; he, בית דג'אן), also known as Dajūn, was a Palestinian Arab village situated approximately southeast of Jaffa. It is thought to have been the site of the biblical town of Beth Dagon, mentione ...
, near
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
, on 10 November 1939. He became a refugee in the
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, ending up first in
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 ...
, then in the
Balata refugee camp near
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
.
He joined the
Baathists in 1952.
[ He studied geology and water resources at ]Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University ( ar, جامعة عين شمس) is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.
History
Ain Shams University was fou ...
in Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
beginning in 1958[ and later in the ]University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
.
Political career
He became a Palestinian nationalist in the early 1960s and joined Fatah in 1962, being responsible for recruitment. He was appointed Fatah regional command in Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
in October 1972. He went to exile with Arafat during the 1970s.[ Habash served as the ambassador of Palestine in the Soviet Union between 1984 and 1985. He was a member of the Fatah Central Committee from August 1989 to August 2009. He was also a writer, a poet and an artist. Habash served as the movement's general deputy of intellectual affairs.][
]
Death
He died of a stroke in the West Bank on 1 November 2009 and was survived by his wife and four children (three sons and a daughter).
Honors
Habash was posthumously awarded on October 5, 2013 with the Star of Jerusalem Medal, the highest medal bestowed by the Palestinian authority.
References
External links
Sakher Habash's website
Fatah's Intellectual office website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Habash, Sakher
1939 births
2009 deaths
Fatah members
20th-century Palestinian poets
Palestinian Muslims
Ain Shams University alumni
20th-century poets
Palestinian refugees