Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Shami Yousef Muhammad al-Shami was born in Jenin refugee camp in Jenin Governorate on April 3, 1965, to a refugee family from the town of al-Mansi in the Haifa district. He is married and has three sons and three daughters. He completed his primary education in UNRWA schools in Jenin camp and his secondary education at Haifa School in Jenin city. He obtained his high school diploma in the humanities track while imprisoned by the Israeli occupation in 1985. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the Open World University in the United States in 2009. He worked for the Services Committee of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in 1993, then joined the Preventive Security Service in Jenin, where he was responsible for the executive force and operations. He remained with the service until his resignation in 2006 with the rank of major.
In his early youth, he participated in national events such as marches and sit-ins. He joined the Fatah movement in the early 1980s and contributed to forming the administrative body of the youth movement in Jenin camp. He was actively involved in the activities of the First Intifada and was one of the movement's cadres in the occupation's prisons. He was first arrested by the occupation forces in 1982 and detained for five years. He was arrested several times and pursued during the First Intifada. While imprisoned, he was elected to the Fatah Revolutionary Council in 1988 and to the Fatah District Committee in Jenin Governorate, where he was responsible for field operations. He served as head of the Fatah Youth Organization in Jenin Governorate from 1999 to 2006 and was chosen as a member of the Popular Services Committee in Jenin camp from 2000 to 2010. He was also elected to the Fatah Revolutionary Council from 2009 to 2016 and won a seat in the Palestinian Legislative Council representing Fatah in Jenin Governorate. In 2006, he became a member of the Council’s Control, Security and Interior Committees, and obtained membership in the Palestinian National Council by virtue of his membership in the Legislative Council.
Al-Shami contributed to public social work through his chairmanship of the Board of Directors of the Advisory Board for the Development of Non-Governmental Organizations since 2009, and his membership in the Al-Takaful Charitable Society in Jenin since 2014.
President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decision to freeze his membership in the Fatah movement in 2018 and cut off his salary from the Legislative Council, on the pretext of his relations with the leader Mohammed Dahlan, and he was prevented from traveling on one occasion.
He believes that the Palestinian cause is going through its most difficult phase in light of the weakness of the Arab world, the decline in the status of the Palestinian cause among its politicians and peoples, the state of internal Palestinian division, and its negative repercussions on the PLO, Fatah, and the rest of the political components, which will make the next phase the most difficult, and the Palestinian people will not be able to face the challenges if the situation remains as it is now.
It is believed that the Oslo Accords were satisfactory when signed, but their results have been disappointing. Hope was there, but it was lost due to the Palestinians' inability to properly manage the agreement. What is now required is a review of all agreements signed with the occupation. As for the division, it is a dark chapter in the history of the Palestinian people, and everyone, without exception, bears responsibility for it. Political participation is considered important and necessary, and all factions should be part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which constitutes the umbrella for the Palestinian cause. It must be revitalized based on the participation of all factions through free and democratic elections. Regarding resistance, there are several mechanisms and methods for its implementation in light of the division, but the fundamental principle is that a unified stance leads to a unified resistance. Personally, I support all forms of resistance without limiting or restricting them to one particular type.
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