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 ...

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