Ziyad al-Nakhalah

Ziyad al-Nakhalah (Arabic: زياد نخالة; April 6, 1953) is a Palestinian Islamic militant, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) since 28 September 2018,[2] which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States,[3] the European Union,[4] the United Kingdom,[5] Japan,[6] Canada,[7] Australia,[8] New Zealand[9][10] and Israel. Al-Nakhalah was designated a Specially Designated Terrorist by the United States in 2014.[11]

Ziyad al-Nakhalah
al-Nakhalah in 2022
Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Assumed office
28 September 2018
Preceded byRamadan Shalah
Personal details
Born (1953-04-06) April 6, 1953
Khan Yunis, All-Palestine Protectorate
Political partyIslamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Residence(s)Beirut, Lebanon and Damascus, Syria[1]

Al-Nakhalah is said to currently live in either Lebanon[12][13] or Syria,[14] and he remains the leader of the Gaza-based Islamist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).[15]

Biography

Ziyad al-Nakhalah was born on 6 April 1953 in Khan Yunis, Gaza, then under Egyptian occupation.[16][17]

In 1971, al-Nakhalah was sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel because of his militant activities with the Arab Liberation Front. He was one of the 1,150 security prisoners released by Israel on 21 May 1985 in a prisoner swap under the Jibril Agreement.

After his release from Israeli prison, then-PIJ secretary-general Fathi Shikaki tasked al-Nakhalah with establishing in the Gaza Strip the group’s military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades.[16] Al-Nakhalah was detained again by Israel in April 1988 for his role in the first Intifada, and was exiled to Lebanon in August 1988 with other PIJ leaders.

Al-Nakhalah became deputy secretary general of PIJ in 1995.

On 23 January 2014, al-Nakhalah was designated a Specially Designated Terrorist by the United States, resulting in his property and interests in the United States being frozen.[11] The US also offered a $5-million reward for information leading to his capture.[16]

Al-Nakhalah was elected secretary general of PIJ on 28 September 2018, succeeding Ramadan Shalah, who suffered a series of strokes in April 2018.[11][2]

References
  1. "Iranian president meets with Hamas, PIJ during Syria visit". The Cradle. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. "Islamic Jihad Names New Chief to Replace Ill Long-time Leader". haaretz. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
  3. "US – Office of Counterterrorism".
  4. "List of organisations recognized as terrorist groups" (PDF). europa.eu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  5. "Terrorism Act 2000". Schedule 2, Act No. 11 of 2000.
  6. "MoFA Japan" (PDF). mofa.go.jp. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  7. Public safety Canada Archived 19 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Palestinian Islamic Jihad". Australian National Security. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  9. "Lists associated with Resolution 1373". New Zealand Police. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  10. STATEMENT OF CASE TO RENEW THE DESIGNATION OF PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD (PIJ) AS A TERRORIST ENTITY, 2013
  11. "Ziyad al-Nakhalah". ECFR. April 16, 2018.
  12. "Profile of Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the New Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leader". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  13. "Who is Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the Islamic Jihad's Beirut-based chief?". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  14. IDF: Islamic Jihad 'deliberately' fired rocket that landed offshore
  15. Ynet (2022-04-18). "Rocket fired from Gaza, intercepted over border communities, IDF says". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  16. Who is Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the Islamic Jihad's Beirut-based chief?, The Jerusalem Post
  17. من هو زياد نخالة؟. almanar (in Arabic). 28 September 2018.
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