Shadia Abu Ghazaleh (; 8 January 1949 – 28 November 1968) was 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 ...

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 ...

. After completing her studies, she joined the

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP; ) is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation ...

(PFLP) and was one of the first women to participate in the

Palestinian fedayeen Palestinian fedayeen () are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be Resistance movement, freedom fighters, while most Israelis consider them to be Pa ...

opposing the

Israeli occupation of the West Bank The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily oc ...

. She was killed in an accident while preparing a bomb in her home in

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 ...

. She has been regarded as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

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 ...

Biography

Shadia Abu Ghazaleh was born on 8 January 1949, in the Palestinian city of

, in the Jordanian-occupied West Bank. She was educated at the Fatimid School for Girls in Nablus, and later at the Al-Aishiyah School. While she was still in school, in the early 1960s, she joined the

Arab Nationalist Movement The Arab Nationalist Movement (, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Arab world, particularly within the Pales ...

(ANM). Upon graduating from school, in 1966, she moved to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

in the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

(modern-day

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

) where she studied

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University () is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was founded in July 1950, the third ...

for a year. Following the

in 1967, she returned to Palestine, despite her family's attempts to dissuade her. She moved back to Nablus where she completed her education at

An-Najah National University An-Najah National University () is a non-governmental public university governed by a board of trustees in Nablus, West Bank, Palestine. The university has 22,000 students and 300 professors in 19 faculties. It is the largest university in the ...

. She joined the nascent

(PFLP), which had been founded in 1967 by former members of the ANM. She quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the leading figures in the organisation. She was one of the first women to participate in the

in the occupied West Bank. She organised and led women's units, and took part in a number of military operations against the occupation. By participating directly in armed action, she broke from traditional Palestinian

gender role A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...

s which restricted women to the role of

caregiver A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

. Abu Ghazaleh was killed on 28 November 1968 while preparing a bomb in her home. She planned to use the bomb to blow up a building in the Israeli city of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. She died when the bomb detonated accidentally.

Legacy

As the first Palestinian woman to be killed while resisting the Israeli occupation, Abu Ghazaleh is widely considered a

by the Palestinian nationalist movement. She has also been described as a

in Israeli sources. Abu Ghazaleh has frequently been cited as an example of women's participation in armed struggle against Israel; she has been listed alongside other Palestinian militant women, including

Dalal Mughrabi Dalal Mughrabi (, ; ''c.'' 1959 – 11 March 1978) was a Palestinian militant who was a member of the Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and participated in the 1978 Coastal Road massacre in Israel. The attack resulte ...

and

Leila Khaled Leila Khaled ( ; born April 9, 1944) is a Palestinian former militant and activist who was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). She is famous as being the first woman to hijack an airplane. Khaled gained her pr ...

. Khaled herself even adopted Abu Ghazaleh's name as her ''

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

''. A portrait of Abu Ghazaleh is kept in the offices of the South African socialist organisation

Abahlali baseMjondolo Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, , in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which primarily campaigns for land, housing and dignity, to democratise society from below and against xenophobia. ...

, alongside the portraits of several other revolutionary figures. In early 2014, a new secondary school for Palestinian girls was named after Abu Ghazaleh; the Israeli organisations ''

Arutz Sheva ''Arutz Sheva'' (), also known in English as ''Israel National News'', is an Israeli media network identifying with religious Zionism. It offers online news articles in Hebrew language, Hebrew, English language, English, and Russian language, R ...

'' and

Palestinian Media Watch Palestinian Media Watch (PMW; ) is an Israel-based nongovernmental organization and media watchdog group. Founded in 1996 by Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch documents cases of incitement in Palestinian media. History Itamar Marcus e ...

claimed it to be a promotion of terrorism by the Palestinian authorities. One Palestinian student at the school held Abu Ghazaleh to be a "model of the wonderful Palestinian fighter" and said that they "follow her path in this school". In December 2023, the school was the site of a

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

reportedly carried out by the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

(IDF) during the

Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Gaza war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel began bombing of the Gaza Strip, bombing the Ga ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Ghazaleh, Shadia 1949 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Palestinian women politicians Accidental deaths in Palestine Ain Shams University alumni An-Najah National University alumni Deaths by improvised explosive device Female guerrillas Palestinian militants Palestinian women activists Palestinian women sociologists Palestinian sociologists People from Nablus Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine members Women psychologists