Fu'ad Nassar (; 28 November 1914 – 30 September 1976), was a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

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. He led the Nazareth branch of the Palestinian Arab Workers Society. Nassar was imprisoned in Iraq. He returned to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

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

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

communist leaders took the initiative to form the National Liberation League. He and Emile Touma were the co-chair of the Communist Party based in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. Nassar became the General Secretary of the League. In 1944 the

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

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 may refer to: Sports Football Men Teams * Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia * Al Ittihad SCSC (Tripoli), Tripoli, Libya * Al Ittihad Gheryan, Gharyan, Libya * Al Ittihad Misurata SC, Misurata, Libya * Al Ittihad SC ...

''. When remaining

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

elements of the League merged into the

Jordanian Communist Party The Jordanian Communist Party (JCP; , ''al-Hizb al-Shuyu'i al-Urduni'') is a communist party in Jordan, founded in 1948. Its current general secretary is Saud Qubailat. It publishes ''al-Jamahir'' (, "The Masses"). History In June 1952, the P ...

in 1951, Nassar became general secretary in the Jordanian party. He was arrested on 29 December 1951 and sentenced to a ten year imprisonment. He was released by the Nabulsi government in 1956, but he had to leave Jordan soon thereafter as

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...

stepped up repression against communists. 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, 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 () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

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; ) is the legislative body - in Arabic, the ''Majlis'' - of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PNC is intended to serve as the parliament that represents all Palestinians inside and outside th ...

. 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 Foreign nationals imprisoned in Iraq Palestinian people imprisoned by Jordan Palestinian newspaper founders 20th-century newspaper founders