Muhammad Youssef Al-Najjar (; 11 June 1930 – 10 April 1973), commonly known as Abu Youssef, was a Palestinian militant who was assassinated by Israel over alleged involvement in the 1972 Munich massacre.

Life

Originally from

Yibna Yibna (; ''Jabneh'' or ''Jabneel'' in Biblical times; ''Jamnia'' in Roman empire, Roman times; ''Lordship of Ibelin, Ibelin'' to the Crusades, Crusaders), or Tel Yavne, is an archaeological site and List of villages depopulated during the Arab– ...

, he was forced to leave his home village in 1948 by the Israeli forces when he settled with his family in the Rafah Camp, Gaza Strip. He worked as a teacher until 1954 when he went to Egypt to study law at Cairo University. He was qualified from Egypt as a lawyer. In 1965, while working in Kuwait, Abu Youssef founded Fatah along with Yasser Arafat and other exiled Palestinians. Youssef was an early activist, traveling to Qatar to form similar groups, and taking command of Fatah's military wing. In 1968, Youssef was appointed to the Executive Committee 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). He also was a member of the Palestinian National Congress, and the Palestinian parliament in exile. Two months before his death, Youssef was interviewed by the Beirut newspaper '' L'Orient-Le Jour''. In the interview, he explained his conviction to the Palestinian cause, saying that he did not expect his generation of Palestinians to defeat Israel but that future generations would continue fighting: "We plant the seeds, and the others will reap the harvest. Most probably we'll all die, killed because we are confronting a fierce enemy. But the youth will replace us". Youssef was allegedly involved in planning the 1972 Munich massacre, in which 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by the Black September group. This prompted Israel to launch a campaign of assassinations, with Youssef as a principal target. In 1973, Israel sent commandos to Beirut, Lebanon to assassinate three high-ranking PLO officials, among them Youssef, in the

1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon The 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon (also known as Operation Spring of Youth in Hebrew or the Verdun massacre in Arabic) took place on the night of April 9 and early morning of April 10, 1973, when Israel Defense Forces, Israeli army special forc ...

. Youssef and his wife were killed by gunfire when Israeli commandos stormed their Beirut apartment. In the raid, Kamal Nasser and Kamal Adwan, other Fatah members, were also killed. Their funeral was attended by nearly half a million people most which were Lebanese.

Legacy

The Mohammed Yousef El-Najar Hospital in Rafah was named after him.

Personal life

His grandson,

Ammar Campa-Najjar Ammar Campa-Najjar (born February 24, 1989) is a United States naval officer and former official at the United States Department of Labor. Campa-Najjar has twice been a candidate for the United States House of Representatives. He secured 48.3 pe ...

, ran in 2018 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to represent California's 50th congressional district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, losing to the incumbent Republican Duncan Hunter. Campa-Najjar ran again in 2020, but lost to former congressman

Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district. He represented the 50th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A memb ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Najjar, Muhammad Youssef 1930 births 1973 deaths Palestinian emigrants to Lebanon Assassinated Palestinian people Deaths by firearm in Lebanon Fatah military commanders Members of the Black September Organization Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre Palestinian Muslims People from Ramla People killed in Mossad operations Ibrahimieh College alumni Central Committee of Fatah members 20th-century Palestinian lawyers Cairo University alumni Arab people in Mandatory Palestine

Life

Legacy

Personal life

See also

References