Muhammad Youssef Al-Najjar (Arabic: محمد يوسف النجار; 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.
Muhammad Youssef Al-Najjar | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization | |
| In office 1968–1973 | |
| Member of the Palestinian National Congress | |
| Member of the Palestinian parliament in exile | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 June 1930 Yibna, Mandatory Palestine |
| Died | 10 April 1973 (aged 42) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Alma mater | Cairo University |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Militant, Teacher |
Life
editOriginally from Yibna, 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.[1] 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 (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".[2]
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. Youssef and his wife were killed by gunfire when Israeli commandos stormed their Beirut apartment.[3][4] 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.[5]
Legacy
editThe Mohammed Yousef El-Najar Hospital in Rafah was named after him.[6]
Personal life
editHis grandson, Ammar Campa-Najjar, ran in 2018 as a Democrat to represent California's 50th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, losing to the incumbent Republican Duncan Hunter.[7][8] Campa-Najjar ran again in 2020, but lost to former congressman Darrell Issa.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Aaron J. Klein (2005). Striking back: The 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and Israel's deadly response. New York: Random House. p. 80. ISBN 9781400064274.
- ^ "Most Probably We'll All Die", Time Magazine, 23 April 1973. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- ^ Bell, J. Bowyer. Assassin: Theory and Practice of Political Violence. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-4128-0509-0 p. 138
- ^ "Israelis kill 3 guerrilla leaders in Beirut raid". The Miami News. Beirut. Associated Press. 10 April 1973. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ^ Rashid Khalidi (2014). Under Siege. PLO Decisionmaking During the 1982 War. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 23. doi:10.7312/khal16668. ISBN 9780231535953.
- ^ "Israel shells Youssef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah". Ma'an News Agency. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ Grandson of Munich Massacre Terrorist Is Running for Congress – Sounding a Peaceful Tone on Israel, Haaretz
- ^ Clark, Charles T. (31 October 2018). "Under attack by Hunter, Campa-Najjar's complex family history spans continents and generations of Middle East strife". San Diego-Union Tribune.
- ^ Watson, Julie (21 April 2021). "California Republican Darrell Issa headed back to Congress". Associated Press.