Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Abdul Qader Ibrahim Faris Hamed was born on June 13, 1962, in the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah. He is married and has two sons and two daughters. He completed his primary and preparatory education at Silwad Boys' Secondary School and his secondary education at the Industrial Secondary School (Al-Yateem Al-Arabi) in Jerusalem. He graduated from high school in the humanities track while imprisoned by the Israeli occupation in 1985. He enrolled at Al-Quds University in Abu Dis and graduated with a diploma in regional studies in 1996. He joined the Preventive Security Service in 1995, where he was assigned responsibility for the Follow-up and Investigation Department, but he only served in this position for one month. Immediately afterward, he was appointed Director of Civil Liaison in Jericho, a post he held until 1996.
Faris became involved in the national struggle at an early age, influenced by the general national situation and the history of resistance in his town. He participated in national activities, including marches, demonstrations, and throwing stones at the occupation forces, even as a student. At the age of sixteen, he joined a group affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), but the group's lack of weapons led him to leave and join another group affiliated with Fatah, which had acquired weapons and carried out several operations. The Israeli occupation forces arrested Fares on August 1, 1981, and sentenced him to fifteen years in prison. Fares became a prominent leader in the Palestinian prisoners' movement, being elected as a representative of the prisoners in 1986, and later as the general coordinator for Fatah prisoners within the prisons. His leadership of the 1992 hunger strike in Israeli prisons and its success marked a significant turning point in his struggle. In 1993, Fares co-founded the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, and in 1995, he became its president. He dedicated himself to serving the prisoners, becoming one of the most important Palestinian figures addressing prisoners and their issues in local, regional, and international media and human rights forums. Fares was released in 1994 as part of the Cairo Agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli occupation authorities.
Fares won a seat in the Palestinian Legislative Council representing Ramallah and al-Bireh in the 1996 legislative elections. He chaired the Council's Committee on Prisoners, Martyrs, and the Wounded, and also served as coordinator of the Settlement Committee. He also chaired the Oversight and Human Rights Committee for a year. Fares was elected to the Palestinian Central Council in 1999 for a one-year term. He participated in the Palestinian negotiating delegation at Sharm el-Sheikh in 1999, where he was responsible for the file of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. He served as Minister of Settlement and Wall Affairs in the Palestinian government from 2003 to 2005. He was a member of the Sixth and Seventh Fatah Conferences and ran for membership in the Fatah Central Committee. He participated in drafting the Geneva Initiative in 2003, which was signed by unofficial Palestinian and Israeli delegations. He founded the Wa'ad Association, which specializes in women's and youth issues and was active from 2006 to 2010.
Fares believes the Palestinian cause is going through an extremely dangerous phase. He sees the situation as terrifying and the future as worrying, primarily due to the ongoing division and the events in the occupying state, which he believes is now led by dangerous gangs embracing a racist, fascist ideology. Fares supported the settlement process between the PLO and the occupying state based on the two-state solution and the return of Palestinian refugees. He was convinced that this was achievable given the existing regional and international dynamics, and he agreed to the Oslo Accords despite his reservations about its provisions, stemming from his belief in the PLO's political leadership. Fares considers the political division to be the greatest catastrophe to befall the Palestinian people after the Nakba of 1948 and the Naksa of 1967, as it has fractured the Palestinian national movement, and the occupation has exploited this division. Fares believes that the Palestinian people have the right to resist in all its forms, including armed resistance. If the current situation necessitates armed resistance, it must be employed. If another situation calls for peaceful resistance, it must be pursued without hesitation. If the situation demands negotiations, the Palestinians should engage in negotiations. Any struggle for the liberation of Palestine must be based on understanding. Fatah cannot advocate solely for negotiations, nor can Hamas advocate solely for resistance. What is effective at this stage is peaceful resistance. Fares believes in the principle of political partnership and national unity, and that the democratic process is the foundation for strengthening this. He supports the inclusion of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) under a nationally agreed-upon program.
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