1. George Habash was a Palestinian politician and physician who was the founder and first general-secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine from 1967 to 2000.
22 Facts About George Habash
1. 2.
In 1951, after graduating first in his class from medical school, Habash worked in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan and ran a clinic in Amman.
3.
George Habash remained opposed to a two-state solution even after the PLO signed the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993.
4.
George Habash resigned as secretary general of the PFLP due to ill health in 2000, and died after a heart attack in 2008.
5.
George Habash was born in Lydda to a Greek Orthodox Christian Palestinian family in 1926.
6.
George Habash later finished his education at the AUB and graduated in 1951.
7.
In 1951, after graduating first in his class from medical school, George Habash worked in refugee camps in Jordan and ran a clinic with Wadie Haddad in Amman.
8.
George Habash firmly believed that the state of Israel should be ended by all possible means, including political violence.
9.
George Habash was implicated in the 1957 coup attempt in Jordan, which had originated among Palestinian members of the National Guard.
10.
George Habash was convicted in absentia, after having gone underground when Hussein of Jordan proclaimed martial law and banned all political parties.
11.
George Habash was arrested by Abd al-Karim al-Jundi and briefly imprisoned in Syria under the accusation of plotting to overthrow the Baathist ruling party in 1968 but escaped with the help of Wadie Haddad who with four others extracted George Habash from a maximum security prison whilst disguised as military police.
12.
In 1970, George Habash was evicted from Jordan due to the key role of the Popular Front in the Black September clashes.
13.
George Habash aligned the PFLP with the PLO and the Lebanese National Movement, but stayed neutral during the Lebanese Civil War in the late 1970s.
14.
George Habash continued to be an activist for the group until 2008 when he died of a heart attack in Amman.
15.
George Habash expressed the opinion that what proceeded was not "only military but psychological warfare" and one had to "hold the Israelis under permanent pressure".
16.
In 1972, George Habash experienced failing health and gradually began to lose influence within the organization.
17.
George Habash was succeeded as head of the PFLP by Abu Ali Mustafa who was assassinated by Israel during the Second Intifada.
18.
George Habash went on to set up a PFLP-affiliated research center, but he remained active in the PFLP's internal politics.
19.
George Habash died on 26 January 2008, at the age of 81 of a heart attack in the Jordan Hospital, Amman, where George Habash was a cancer patient.
20.
George Habash was buried in a suburban cemetery of Amman with the obsequies of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
21.
Abbas said George Habash was a "historic leader" and called for Palestinian flags to be flown half-mast.
22.
Hamas leader and dismissed Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh sent his condolences, saying George Habash "spent his life defending Palestine".