Bassam Abu Sharif

Bassam Abu Sharif

Bassam Abu Sharif (born 1946) is a former senior adviser to the late Yasser Arafat and press officer of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Formerly a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Abu Sharif was dubbed the "face of terror" by Time Magazine for his role in the Dawson's Field hijackings in 1970, when the PFLP hijacked Pan Am, Swissair, and TWA flights — a fourth pair of hijackers on an El Al flight were overpowered by security guards and passengers — and blew them up in the Jordanian desert, triggering King Hussein's expulsion of the PLO from Jordan, which became known as Black September.

He lost four fingers, and was left deaf in one ear and blind in one eye, when a bomb exploded in his hands in Beirut, Lebanon in 1972, which he attributes to a letter-bomb attack by the Mossad. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/2072849.stm]

Within PFLP, he began to favor a reduced emphasis on armed struggle and closer cooperation with Fatah, the dominant PLO faction. As a result, he was removed from the PFLP Politburo in 1981, and demoted running external relations. In drawing closer to Fatah leader Yasir Arafat and meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he was expelled from the PFLP in 1987. In a non-partisan role, he became an advisor to Arafat and was able to float some peace proposals based on a two-state solution and preparing Palestinians for the compromises made in Oslo. He returned to Ramallah in 1996 as a presidential advisor and often writing unofficial statements of the Palestinian position in the peace process.

In 1995, he co-authored the book Best of Enemies with Uzi Mahnaimi, an Israeli intelligence officer.

Writing in the Palestinian newspaper "al-Quds" in April 2005, Abu Sharif called for a "popular peaceful uprising" of Palestinians through massive nonviolent resistance to prevent Israel from annexing any additional land in the West Bank.

Bassam Abu Sharif has two children, Omar and Karma, from a previous marriage.

Works

*Bassam Abu-Sharif and Uzi Mahnaimi. "The Best of Enemies: The Memoirs of Bassam Abu-Sharif and Uzi Mahnaimi", 1995. ISBN 978-0-316-00401-5
*______________________________. "Tried by Fire", 1996. ISBN 978-0-7515-1636-4

References

* [http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc1.asp?fr=1&full=yes&docid=1P1:28116179&refid=ls_pub&skeyword=&teaser=&origurl=http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?docid=1P1:28116179&refid=ls_pub&skeyword=&teaser= "The face of terrorism, then and now"] by John Cooley, New Perspectives Quarterly, September 1996 (subscription required)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bassam Abu Sharif — Bassam Abu Sharif, né en 1946 à Jérusalem, est un homme politique palestinien. Après avoir été un des dirigeants du F.P.L.P (Front populaire de libération de la Palestine) de Georges Habache, Bassam Abu Sharif est devenu par la suite un des plus… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bassam — may refer to:People with the given name Bassam:* Bassam Abdel Majeed (born 1950), Syrian minister of interior * Bassam Abdullah bin Bushar al Nahdi (born 1976), Yemeni fugitive wanted by the United States * Bassam Abu Sharif (born 1946),… …   Wikipedia

  • Yasser Arafat — Yasir Arafat redirects here. For the cricketer, see Yasir Arafat (cricketer). ياسر عرفات‎ Yasser Arafat (Yāsir Arafāt) Kunya …   Wikipedia

  • List of Palestinians — The following is a list of prominent Palestinians. Academic figures * Rami Abuhabsah, Biologist * Nadia Abu El Haj, anthropologist * Sami Hadawi, land specialist and researcher * Ibrahim Abu Lughod, sociologist * Salman Abu Sitta * Naseer Aruri,… …   Wikipedia

  • Dawson's Field hijackings — The airliners on the ground during the PFLP hosted press conference Location Zarka, Jordan …   Wikipedia

  • Wadie Haddad — Dr Wadie Haddad (1927 – March 28, 1978), a.k.a. Abu Hani , was a Palestinian militant active in the 1960s and 1970s, involved in several terrorist attacks.BiographyEarly yearsHaddad was born to Greek Orthodox parents in Safad, in what is today… …   Wikipedia

  • Israel — /iz ree euhl, ray /, n. 1. a republic in SW Asia, on the Mediterranean: formed as a Jewish state May 1948. 5,534,672; 7984 sq. mi. (20,679 sq. km). Cap.: Jerusalem. 2. the people traditionally descended from Jacob; the Hebrew or Jewish people. 3 …   Universalium

  • Mossad — For the organization that coordinated pre state Jewish immigration, see Mossad Le aliyah Bet. The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations מדינת ישראל המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים الموساد للاستخبارات والمهام الخاصة …   Wikipedia

  • Liste des articles concernant la Palestine — Projet:Palestine/Index Cet article est une liste référençant la Palestine. D autres articles peuvent être identifiés dans la catégorie correspondante Le but de cette page est de lister les articles de Wikipédia relatifs à la Palestine. Ainsi,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Projet:Palestine/Index — Le but de cette page est de lister les articles de Wikipédia relatifs à la Palestine. Ainsi, ceux et celles intéressés par le sujet peuvent suivre les changements récents en cliquant « Suivi des liens ». Cette liste n est pas… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”