Hilmi Hanoun (; 1913–2001) was a Palestinian businessman, journalist and politician. He served as the mayor of Tulkarem between 1963 and 1998.

Early life and education

Born in Jaffa in 1913 Hanoun hailed from a landowning family based in

Tulkarm Tulkarm or Tulkarem (, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the West Bank, the capital of the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian territories, Palestinia ...

. His mother, Asya, was the sister of Yousef Haikal and was a graduate of the English Girls' School in Jaffa. His father was Yusuf Hanoun. He had three siblings: Rushdi, Rasha and Awni. The family left Jaffa in the early period of World War I and settled in Tulkarm in November 1914. He graduated from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

in 1934 obtaining a degree in commerce.

Career and activities

Following his graduation Hanoun was involved in the citrus marketing business and became a member of the Jaffa Chamber of Commerce. He cofounded a newspaper entitled ''Ash Shaab'' in Jaffa in 1947 and was its editor-in-chief. He settled in Tulkarem after the

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

in 1948. He joined the Palestinian National Party and left the party in 1956. He was elected to the Tulkarem City Council in 1961. Hanoun was elected as the mayor of Tulkarem on 27 October 1963. He was also elected as a member of the first

Palestinian National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC; ) is the legislative body - in Arabic, the ''Majlis'' - of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PNC is intended to serve as the parliament that represents all Palestinians inside and outside th ...

in 1964. He was again elected as the mayor of Tulkarem on 23 April 1972 and in 1976. He remained in office until his resignation in 1998. Hanoun was the chairman of the board of '' Al Fajr'' newspaper based in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He was one of the founders of the Red Crescent Hospital and Az Zakat Committee in Tulkarem. He also served as a board member of the Palestinian Housing Council. He actively took part in the establishment of the National Guidance Committee in November 1978. He was arrested by the Israeli authorities and was put under house arrest between 1980 and 1982.

Views

Hanoun was one of the early individuals at the beginning of the 1970s who regarded 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) as the sole and official representative of the Palestinians wherever they were living. He did not support the Jordanian authority over the independence of Palestine. After the introduction of the autonomy plans suggested by the Israeli Defense Minister

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

in 1981 Hanoun argued that these plans should be first accepted by the PLO and that Israel was trying to create a local leadership among the Palestinians excluding the PLO. Unlike other leading Palestinian figures Hanoun did not accept the meeting invitation of the Israeli Defense Minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

to improve the conditions of the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

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 ...

residents in June 1988. Hanoun opposed the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

like other mayors in Palestine who protested them through many demonstrations.

Public image

During his tenure Hanoun was one of the most significant Palestinian mayors along with Karim Khalaf, mayor of Ramallah, and

Fahd Qawasmi Fahd Qawasmi (1934–1984) was a Palestinian agricultural engineer and a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He was the mayor of Hebron between 1976 and 1980. During his tenure he was among the most ...

, mayor of Hebron. The Tulkarm residents described Hanoun as an honest person stating "there is no dust on him." He enjoyed support of all factions within the PLO. The Israeli government had also a positive view of him and did not attempt to replace him with its own appointee.

Death

Hanoun died on 29 July 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanoun, Hilmi 20th-century Palestinian politicians 1913 births 2001 deaths Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Members of the Palestinian National Council Palestinian newspaper founders Palestinian people imprisoned by Israel Palestinian political journalists People from Jaffa American University of Beirut alumni Arab people from Ottoman Palestine Mayors of places in Palestine People from Tulkarm