Mahmoud al-Aloul () (born 11 December 1950) is a Palestinian politician who formerly served as the governor of the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

governorateInterview with Mahmoud Al-Aloul, Governor of Nablus
/ref> in the Central Highlands 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 ...

from 1995 to 2005. Al-Aloul was elected to the

Central Committee of Fatah The Fatah Central Committee is the highest decision-making body of the Palestinian organization and political party, Fatah. History The first Fatah Central Committee was formed in February 1963, consisting of ten members, including Yasser Arafa ...

in August 2009 during the 6th General Conference, and later became Vice Chairman following the 7th General Conference held in 2016. In early 2018, he was widely discussed as the likely successor to

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

President of the Palestinian National Authority The president of the Palestinian National Authority () is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to head of state) in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). From 2003 to 2013, the president appointed the prime minister of the Pa ...

. After the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, al-Aloul was arrested by Israel and sent to live in Jordan, where he joined

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

. He rose within Fatah, and, in the 1970s, moved to Lebanon. There he served under

Khalil al-Wazir Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir Standardized Arabic transliteration: '' / / '' (, also known by his '' kunya'' Abu JihadStandardized Arabic transliteration: ' —"Jihad's Father"; 10 October 1935 – 16 April 1988) was a Palestinian leader and co-fou ...

, as commander of a Fatah brigade that captured eight Israeli soldiers in 1983. The Israeli prisoners were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli hands. According to Aloul, the Palestinians still maintain their belief in armed struggle against the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

References

1950 births Living people People from Nablus Government ministers of the Palestinian National Authority Members of the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council Governors of Nablus Governorate Central Committee of Fatah members Beirut Arab University alumni {{Palestine-politician-stub