Born in Jabalia Refugee Camp in 1954 to refugee parents; holds an MA in Political Science; joined Fateh while at secondary school in 1971; was arrested and detained by Israel numerous times, first in 1972, and longest in 1973, when he served 14 years; soon after his release he was jailed again in 1988 for 6 months; then was out in administrative detention 27 months; was in charge of Fateh’s military wing (Black Panthers, later Fateh Hawks) in 1990; left for Tunis in 1991; returned to Palestine following the establishment of the PA in 1994; served for many years as deputy head of the Preventive Security Service (PSS) under Mohammed Dahlan; appointed head of the PSS in Gaza by Pres. Yasser Arafat in June 2002, following Dahlan’s resignation; offered to resign on 16 July 2004 in complaint over the state of chaos and the lack of reforms in the security services; was removed from Israel’s list of wanted terrorists as a goodwill gesture toward Pres. Mahmoud Abbas in early 2005; was promoted by Pres. Abbas to overall PSS chief in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in April 2005; member of the Fateh Higher Committee.