Ahmed Jibril (; – 7 July 2021)
was a Palestinian militant and political leader who was the founder and leader of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC).
During the
Syrian Civil War, Jibril was a notable supporter of the Assad government and PFLP-GC members helped government forces to fight the
Syrian opposition. However, after
clashes with rebels in
Yarmouk Camp in Damascus, the PFLP-GC suffered defections and was forced to withdraw from the camp, and Jibril fled the city.
Early life
Born to a Palestinian father and Syrian mother, Jibril's year of birth is given by different sources as 1935, 1937 and 1938 and his place of birth as
Yazur,
Jaffa
Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
,
Ramla and
Ramallah
Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...
in Mandatory Palestine as well as Iraq and Syria.
When the
First Arab-Israeli War began in 1948, his family moved to
Homs
Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...
, Syria, where he was raised.
He graduated from the
Homs Military Academy and served in the
Syrian Army from 1956 until 1958, rising to the rank of captain before being expelled as a suspected Communist. In 1959, he founded the
Palestinian Liberation Front. Beginning in 1965, he worked closely with the leadership of the
Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), including
Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
.
In 1967, he joined with
George Habash to form the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian
Marxist–Leninist and
revolutionary socialist organization that combined
Arab nationalism with the
leftist ideology, and which was in conflict with Arafat.
Break from the PFLP
In 1968, Jibril broke away from the PFLP because of disputes over the more revolutionary Marxism advocated by Habash and
Nayef Hawatmeh.
He formed a new organization, the pro-Syrian "The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command" (PFLP-General Command).
Jibril never wavered from his belief that Palestine could only be liberated through military attrition. He joined George Habash and other splinter groups which opposed negotiations with the Israeli government. He launched a variety of inventive attacks, including the "
Night of the Gliders" on 25 November 1987.
Leader of PFLP-GC
Samuel Katz's ''Israel vs. Jibril'' distinguishes the PFLP-GC and Jibril's strategy from the rest of the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
(PLO) by its emphasis on military training and equipment, and not on declarations and publicity stunts. This caused the group to fail to make a significant mark on the public debate. Since 1994's
Oslo Accords, support for the PFLP-GC dwindled among Palestinians.
On 7 May 2001, the
Israeli Navy
The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...
seized a Palestinian boat filled with heavy weapons in the port of
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
. Jibril is believed to have been behind the shipment of weapons, which were bound for the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
.
During the
Syrian Civil War, the PFLP-GC helped the
Syrian Army to fight the
Syrian rebels in and around
Yarmouk Camp – a district of Damascus that is home to the biggest community of Palestinian refugees in Syria.
Several members of the PFLP-GC's central committee opposed this alliance with the government and resigned in protest.
By 17 December 2012, the rebels, which included Palestinians, had won control of Yarmouk. Jibril fled Damascus, reportedly for the Mediterranean city of
Tartous. Palestinian left-wing groups—including the PFLP—berated Jibril and the PFLP-GC.
One PFLP official said that Jibril "does not even belong to the Palestinian Left. He is closer to the extremist right-wing groups than to revolutionary leftist ones".
[ On 18 December, the Palestinian National Council (PNC) denounced Jibril, saying it would expel him over his role in the conflict.][
In a 17 February 2017, Jibril did an interview with Al Mayadeen and expressed his hope that the Iranian military with others would fully back the future Palestinian war against Israel.
Talal Naji succeeded Jibril as the secretary-general of the PFLP-GC.
]
Personal life
Jibril's son, Jihad Ahmed Jibril, who headed the PFLP-GC's military wing and was in line to replace Jibril as leader of the group, was killed by a car bomb in Beirut on 20 May 2002.
Death
Jibril died of heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood.
Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
on 7 July 2021, in Damascus, Syria. After a funeral service in the Al-Othman Mosque in Damascus with his coffin draped in the Palestinian flag, he was buried in the Martyrs Cemetery of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp.
See also
* Jibril Agreement
* Kiryat Shmona massacre
References
External links
Ahmed Jibril and the PFLP-GC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jibril, Ahmed
1930s births
2021 deaths
Palestinian Arab nationalists
Palestinian militants
Palestinian military personnel
Palestinians in Syria
People of the Syrian civil war
Palestinian Liberation Front members
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members
Palestinian murderers
Arab people in Mandatory Palestine
Military personnel of the Lebanese Civil War
Syrian military personnel
Palestinian rebels
Palestinian emigrants to Syria