Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Born in Haifa in 1928; eldest brother of Hani Al-Hassan; fought in the struggle of 1947-48 and fled Haifa in its aftermath; became with his family refugee in Sidon, Lebanon; formed the short-lived commando group Tahrir Filastin in 1949; worked as a teacher in Damascus whilst attempting to organize groups; helped founding the Islamic Liberation Party in 1952; left, after being arrested in late 1952, to Kuwait; worked as a civil servant, typist, and later as Sec.-Gen. of the Municipal Council Board in Kuwait; was awarded Kuwaiti citizenship; had first contacts with Fateh in 1959, became member in 1962; was named to and became the leader of the first Fateh Central Committee; was named to the PLO Exec. Committee in 1968 (until 1973) and became later head of its Political Dept.; became head of the PNC’s Foreign Relations Committee after 1973 (first PLO ‘foreign minister’ and was as such main architect of the PLO’s foreign policy); following the Oct. 1973 War, argued that the Palestinian struggle could continue with a state in the OPT; made an “unofficial” five-point proposal in April-May 1980, advocating Israel’s withdrawal from the OPT, deployment of UN forces, and work on arrangements for the creation of a Palestinian state in the OPT; known as opponent to military means and advocator of democratic values; called in April 1991 for the election of a Palestinian provisional government capable of ending the PLO’s isolation; authored Grasping the Nettle of Peace (1992), advocating a Swiss-style confederation in which citizens from Israel, the OPT and Jordan vote according to their canton, hence no recognition of the 1948 land taken by Israel; supported the Madrid formula but opposed the handling of the Oslo process; refused to join the PA; died in Rabat on 8 Oct. 1994 from cancer.
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Achievements and Awards
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