Muhammad Nimr al-Khatib ( ar, محمد نمر الخَطيب (1918 – 15 November 2010) was a Palestinian leader and pro- Husayni head of the

Arab Higher Committee The Arab Higher Committee ( ar, اللجنة العربية العليا) or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of the Arab Palestinians in Mandatory Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative o ...

in Haifa during the

1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine The 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine was the first phase of the 1947–1949 Palestine war. It broke out after the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption of the Pa ...

. He founded an Islamic society called ''Jam‘iyyat al-I‘tisam'' in 1941. Khatib's family held the mufti-ship of Haifa during Ottoman rule. Khatib was targeted for assassination by the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

, as part of

Operation Zarzir Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Operation (game), ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * Operations (magazine ...

, on 19 February 1948. Two Shahar agents fired 32 bullets at a taxi in which he was traveling north of Haifa on a return journey from

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. He was hit by one bullet in the lung and three in the left shoulder.

Isaac Shoshan Isaac Shoshan ( he, יצחק שושן‎, 19 April 1924 – 28 December 2020) was an Israeli Military Intelligence, intelligence officer, spy and "Mista'arvim, Mista'arev". Starting as an undercover operative in the "Arab Section" of the Palmach ...

had been instructed to "run back and appear to be helping, but actually to make sure the sheikh was dead, and if not, to finish the job off with my handgun". However, British soldiers prevented Shoshan from reaching the car. One passenger died and one other was wounded in the attack. Al-Khatib remained outside of

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

for the rest of the war. Black, Ian (1992). ''Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services''. Grove Press. Khatib was the author of a notable account of the 1948 War entitled ''The Events of the Disaster'' (''Min Athar al-Nakba''). Khatib was the first writer to note the

Tantura massacre The Tantura massacre took place on the night of 22–23 May 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, when around 40-200 Palestinian Arabs were massacred by the Israeli Defense Force's Alexandroni Brigade, following the surrender of Tantura, a ...

. Pappé, Ilan; ''The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine'', p. 137.

References

External links

Nimr al-Khatib's obituary
1918 births 2010 deaths Palestinian people of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Palestinian Sunni Muslims Palestinian non-fiction writers Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood members {{Palestine-writer-stub