Kamel Arekat (, also spelled Kamel Uraygat; 26 March 1901 – 17 July 1984) was a Jordanian

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of Jordan. He was born in

Abu Dis Abu Dis or Abu Deis () is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, in the Jerusalem Governorate of the State of Palestine, bordering Jerusalem. Since the 1995 Oslo II Accord, Abu Dis land has been mostly part of " Area B", under Israeli military ...

, a town 5km in the east of

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 ...

, to a notable

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian originated

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

Early life

Kamel was born to a notable family. His grandfather, Sheikh Rashid, was known as the leader of the knights assigned by the Ottoman Sultan to protect Christian pilgrims visiting Jerusalem. After the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and the

British Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordanwhich had been part of the Ottoman Empire for four centuriesfollowing the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in Wo ...

he served in the British Police in 1926.

Arab and Jewish conflict in Palestine

Years later, and due to the Jewish Immigration to Palestine, he participated in the Arab-Palestinian resistance movement under the leadership of

Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni Abdul Qadir al-Husayni (; 1907 – 8 April 1948) was a Palestinian revolutionary and Arab nationalist guerrilla military leader. In late 1933, he founded the secret militant group known as the Organization for Holy Struggle (''Munathamat al-Ji ...

References

1984 deaths 1901 births Members of the House of Representatives (Jordan) Speakers of the House of Representatives (Jordan) People from Abu Dis {{Jordan-politician-stub