Abdulmalik Dehamshe (, ; born 4 March 1943) is an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...

former politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for the

United Arab List The United Arab List (, ''HaReshima HaAravit HaMe'uhedet''; , ''al-Qā'ima al-'Arabiyya al-Muwaḥḥada''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Ra'am (, ), is an Islamist and conservative political party in Israel and the political wing of ...

between 1996 and 2006. He was also leader of the party.

Biography

Born in Kafr Kanna during the Mandate era, Dehamshe completed his secondary education in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

. He earned a BA at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

in 1968 and worked as a lawyer. In 1996 he was elected to the Knesset on the Arab Democratic Party–

joint list. He was re-elected in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and became a Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. In 1998 he said "Any Arab who serves in the Israeli Army is a disgusting criminal. We reject all forms of military service because we are part of the Palestinian people." After an Israeli airstrike killed three Syrian soldiers, he sent a letter of condolences to Syrian President

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

, and wrote the return address as "Nazareth, Palestine". In 2003 the Or Commission found that he had been responsible for inflaming violence during the

October 2000 events The October 2000 protests, also known as October 2000 events, were a series of protests in Arab villages in northern Israel in October 2000 that turned violent, escalating into rioting by Arab citizens of Israel, Israeli Arabs, which led to co ...

. He retained his seat again in the 2003 Knesset elections and remained a Deputy Speaker. He lost his seat in the 2006 elections. In the same year he expressed his support for suicide bombings, the use of

Qassam rocket The Qassam rocket ( ; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired to target specific military objectives in or near ci ...

s on Israeli population centers, and kidnappings of Israelis by Palestinian militants.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dehamshe, Abdulmalik 1943 births Living people 20th-century Israeli lawyers 21st-century Israeli lawyers Arab members of the Knesset Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Deputy speakers of the Knesset Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999) Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Palestinian nationalists People from Northern District (Israel) United Arab List leaders