Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah

Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah ( _ar. رمضان عبد الله محمد شلح) is a Palestinian academic and one of the founders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). He became the Secretary-General of PIJ when Fathi Shaqaqi was killed in 1995. Shallah is often referred to as Ramadan Abdullah (رمضان عبد الله) and sometimes as Abdullah Ramadan Shallah (عبد الله رمضان شلح).

Shallah has been under embargo by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department since 27 November 1995. [http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/sdnlist.txt US Treasury SDT list] ] He is under indictment in the United States on 53 criminal counts. On 24 February 2006 Shallah and fellow PIJ member Abd Al Aziz Awda were added to the FBI's list of Most Wanted Terrorists. [http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel06/mostwantedterrorists022406.htm FBI Updates Most Wanted Terrorists and Seeking Information – War on Terrorism Lists] , "FBI national Press Release", 24 February 2006] Both Shallah and Awda, along with most members of the politburos of PIJ and Hamas, are currently sheltered by the regime of Syria.

ajaya, Gaza City, birthplace

Shallah was born on 1 January 1958 in Sajaya (aka Shajaiyeh), also called Gaza Sejaiya district, a neighborhood in eastern Gaza City. At the time, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control. Shallah was born into the middle of that occupation, in 1958. Egypt, since 1949, had recognized an "All-Palestine Government." But in 1959, a year after Shallah's birth, the president of Egypt, Gamal Abdul Nasser, annulled the All-Palestine government by decree. In 1967, Gaza came under Israeli control as a result of the Six Day War.

University career

Shallah earned a PhD in Banking and Economics from the University of Durham in England, then taught as an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida before leaving in 1995 to head the resistance movement. He has ties to Tampa, Florida, the Gaza Strip, Egypt and London, England.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad activity

Considered a terrorist by some and a freedom fighter by others, Shallah took control as secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) after the assassination of the former leader, Fathi Shiqaqi in Malta in 1995. Shallah was listed as a "Specially Designated Terrorist" under United States law on November 27, 1995.

Along with fellow PIJ member Abd Al Aziz Awda, Shallah was indicted in a 53 count indictment in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa, Florida, on RICO charges of alleged involvement in racketeering activities for the designated international terrorist organization known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Shallah is wanted for conspiracy to conduct the affairs of the PIJ through a pattern of racketeering activities such as bombings, murders, extortions, and money laundering.

For that indictment, Shallah then became one of six alleged and indicted terrorist fugitives among the second and most recent group of indicted fugitives to be added to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists list on February 24, 2006, along with Abd Al Aziz Awda.

References

External links

* [http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/tershallah.htm FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists wanted poster of Shallah]
* [http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/index.cfm?page=shallah Rewards for Justice wanted poster of Shallah] from US State Dept., similar to the preceding