Col A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sig ...

onel Saeed Musa Muragha ( ) (1927 – 29 January 2013) was a Palestinian militant leader who was the founder and leader of

Fatah al-Intifada Fatah al-Intifada () is a Palestinian militant faction founded by Said Muragha, better known as Abu Musa. Officially it refers to itself as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement - "Fatah" (), the identical name of the major Fatah movem ...

, until his death in 2013. He is well known among Palestinians as Abu Musa ().

Early life and military career

Muragha was born in

Silwan Silwan or Siloam (; ; ) is a predominantly Palestinian district in East Jerusalem, on the southeastern outskirts of the current Old City of Jerusalem.East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

. As a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

, he joined the Jordanian Army in 1948 and rose to become commander of an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

battalion in 1969. During this period he was sent to receive a military education at the prestigious

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Sandhurst Military Academy The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer An officer is a person who has a position ...

. In October 1970, after the outbreak of

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

(also known as the Jordanian Civil War), he defected from the Jordanian Army and joined the

Palestinian Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

(PLO) and relocated with most of the Palestinian Resistance groups to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. There he rose to command an alliance between the PLO and Lebanese militant groups, which fought the

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

ns when Syria intervened in the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

in 1976. In 1978, the Syrian government unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate him.

Split with Arafat

Muragha became the deputy chief of operations for the PLO and led the PLO's defense of Beirut in 1982 during the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

. However he fell out with

Yassir Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, President of the Stat ...

, head of Fatah and PLO, in May 1983. Muragha publicly complained over corrupt practices within the PLO, especially the promotion of political appointees loyal to Arafat to important military posts. He was also known for hardline views on

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 ...

, and outspoken in his opposition to what he saw as Arafat's attempt to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict (see

Rejectionist Front The Rejectionist Front (Arabic: جبهة الرفض) or Front of the Palestinian Forces Rejecting Solutions of Surrender (جبهة القوى الفلسطينية الرافضة للحلول الإستسلامية) was a political coalition forme ...

). In November 1983, he was expelled from the PLO and formed the Fatah Uprising (or

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

) in opposition to Arafat. With the backing of Syria, who opposed any negotiations with Israel, Muragha led his groups to drive Arafat's PLO from northern Lebanon. In 1984, he led Fatah Uprising to join the Palestinian National Alliance in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

in opposition to the PLO but failed to get a majority of Palestinian support. He would join the Palestinian National Salvation Front in 1985 and oppose 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 ...

in 1993. Muragha retired from his leadership role in the 1990s and would no longer be active from then on.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muragha, Said 1927 births 2013 deaths Palestinian militants Palestinian rebels People of the Lebanese Civil War