Khalil al-Wazir | |
|---|---|
 Khalil al-Wazir strategizing | |
| Nickname(s) | Abu Jihad |
| Born | 10 October 1935 Ramla, British Mandate of Palestine |
| Died | 16 April 1988 (aged 52) Tunis, Tunisia |
| Buried | Al Yarmuk camp, Syria |
| Allegiance | Fatah/Palestine Liberation Organization |
| Service | Al-Assifa |
| Rank | Commander |
| Battles / wars | |
| Relations | Intissar al-Wazir (wife) |
Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir[note 1] (Arabic: خليل إبراهيم الوزير, also known by his kunya Abu Jihad[note 2] أبو جهاد—"Jihad's Father"; 10 October 1935 – 16 April 1988) was a Palestinian leader and co-founder of the nationalist party Fatah. As a top aide of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, al-Wazir had considerable influence in Fatah's military activities, eventually becoming the commander of Fatah's armed wing al-Assifa.
Al-Wazir became a refugee when his family was expelled from Ramla during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and began leading a minor fedayeen force in the Gaza Strip. In the early 1960s he established connections for Fatah with Communist regimes and prominent third-world leaders. He opened Fatah's first bureau in Algeria. He played an important role in the 1970–71 Black September clashes in Jordan, by supplying besieged Palestinian fighters with weapons and aid. Following the PLO's defeat by the Jordanian Army, al-Wazir joined the PLO in Lebanon.
Prior to and during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, al-Wazir planned numerous attacks inside Israel against both civilian and military targets. He prepared Beirut's defense against incoming Israeli forces. Nonetheless, the Israeli military prevailed and al-Wazir was exiled from Lebanon with the rest of the Fatah leadership. He settled in Amman for a two-year period and was then exiled to Tunis in 1986. From his base there, he started to organize youth committees in the Palestinian territories; these eventually formed a major component of the Palestinian forces in the First Intifada. However, he did not live to command the uprising. On 16 April 1988, he was assassinated at his home in Tunis by Israeli commandos.
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