26 militants and 8 bullets in 5 minutes to assassinate Abu Jihad... As an Israeli commando unit stormed his house in Tunisia around 1:00 a.m. on April 16, 1988, and assassinated him.
Khalil Ibrahim Mahmoud Al-Wazir was born in the city of Ramalah during the British Mandate on Palestine on October 10, 1935. His family left the city in July 1948 following the occupation by Zionist gangs during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, relocating to Gaza Strip. Al-Wazir enrolled at Alexandria University in 1955 to study journalism at the Faculty of Arts but did not complete his university studies due to the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt.
Al-Wazir joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1952 while in high school, becoming a leader of the student movement at his school and the secretary of the Muslim Brotherhood's student office in Gaza, later leaving them. He began organizing a small group of Palestinian fedayeen to fight Israel in military sites near the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula.
Yasser Arafat visited Gaza in 1954, where Al-Wazir knew him as a young journalist, as he was responsible for editing the student magazine "Our Palestine". On February 25, 1955, along with Kamal Adwan, Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar, Saeed Al-Mazini, Abdel Fattah Al-Hamoud, Ghaleb Al-Wazir, Abdullah Siyam, Mohammed Al-Ifrangi, and Hamad Al-Aydi, he executed an operation to blow up the "Zuhair" water tank near Beit Hanoun. On February 28, 1955, Israeli forces responded by killing dozens of Palestinians and Egyptians. He was deported from Gaza to Egypt, where he started studying at Alexandria University but left it after the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt in 1956 and received military training in Cairo organized by the Palestinian Student League.
Al-Wazir was arrested again in 1957 on charges of leading the Palestinian fedayeen rebellion against Israel and was deported to Saudi Arabia, where he worked as a teacher for a few months in the city of Al-Qunfudhah in the Mecca region. He then continued teaching after moving to Kuwait in 1959 and remained there until 1963.
Formation of Fatah Movement:
Al-Wazir leveraged his presence in Kuwait to strengthen his relationship with Yasser Arafat and other Palestinian exiles whom he met in Egypt. In the autumn of 1957, they agreed to establish a clandestine organization aimed at liberating Palestine through armed struggle. In November 1959, a meeting was held in Kuwait involving young Palestinians from several Arab countries, where the establishment of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) was announced. Al-Wazir was chosen as a member of the movement's first central committee and remained a member until his assassination in 1988. He moved to Beirut in October 1959 after being assigned to edit the monthly magazine of the movement, "Palestine—Call of Life," where he was the only one with writing inclinations.
Between 1960 and 1962, Al-Wazir contributed to the formation of secret cells for the Fatah movement in the West Bank and assisted in purchasing and storing weapons for them. In 1962, he, along with Yasser Arafat and Farouk Al-Qaddoumi, traveled to Algeria upon an invitation from President Ahmed Ebn-Bella. In 1963, Al-Wazir took over the responsibility for the first Palestinian office in Algeria and a military training camp. He strengthened Palestinian-Algerian relations, facilitating the enrollment of thousands of Palestinian students in Algerian universities and their training in Algerian military colleges.
In 1964, accompanied by Yasser Arafat, Al-Wazir participated in a delegation from Algeria-Fatah to Beijing, China. During his visit, he presented Fatah's ideas to various Chinese leaders, including Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, leading to the opening of a Palestinian office in China. He also toured other East Asian countries, establishing relations with North Korea and Vietnam. Later, he visited Yugoslavia and East Germany.
In 1962, Al-Wazir had his first meeting with Che Guevara in the "Al-Yateh" Hotel in Algeria when Guevara was working as a translator at the office.
Due to his coordination with fighters and his contacts with arms-supplying countries, Al-Wazir was tasked with recruiting and training fighters, thus establishing the military wing of the Fatah movement, Al-Asifa (The thunder). While in Algeria, he recruited Abu Ali Iyad, who became his deputy and one of the senior leaders of Al-Asifa (The Thunder) in Syria and Jordan.
In May 1964, he participated in the Palestinian National Conference held in Jerusalem, where the Palestine Liberation Organization was announced, and he was a member of the political committee of the conference.
On December 31, 1964, a Fatah militant group carried out the 'Eil-bon' Tunnel operation, where they blew up an Israeli water network and wounded two Israeli soldiers, symbolizing the beginning of the Fatah movement.
Lebanon and Beyond:
During his time in Lebanon, Al-Wazir was responsible for coordinating prominent operations. He planned the Savoy operation in 1975, where eight Fatah fighters raided the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv and took hostages, resulting in the deaths of three Israeli soldiers in addition to the eight fighters. He also planned the Kamal Adwan operation in March 1978, where six Fatah members hijacked a bus, resulting in the deaths of 35 Israelis.
In 1980, Khalil Al-Wazir was elected as deputy to the Commander-in-Chief, Yasser Arafat, at the Fourth Conference of the Fatah Movement held in Damascus.
During the Israeli siege of Beirut in 1982, Al-Wazir, along with Saad-Sayel, planned to defend Beirut and helped in directing forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization against the Israeli occupation army.
Unsatisfied with the outcome of the 1982 Lebanon War and its subsequent dispersion of Palestinian forces, Al-Wazir focused on establishing strong military bases for the movement in the occupied territories. In 1982, the Fatah Youth Movement was launched, which he sponsored, and it would later grow into the First Palestinian Intifada.
Al-Wazir contributed to the capture of eight Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and negotiated a prisoner exchange deal for around 4,500 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in southern Lebanon and about 100 prisoners from the occupied territories in 1982.
The First Palestinian Intifada:
The Intifada began on December 8, 1987, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, and then spread to all cities, villages, and refugee camps in Palestine. It was organized by the Unified Palestinian Leadership and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Khalil Al-Wazir played a significant role in leading the popular uprising in the occupied territories, providing support and coordination for its activities.
Assassination:
Israel began the assassination operation against Al-Wazir at exactly 1:30 AM on April 16, 1988, while he was in his home located in the Sidi Bou-Saaid neighborhood northeast of the capital, Tunis. He was 52 years old at the time. Israel accused Al-Wazir of planning military and guerrilla actions against it, and his star rose as one of the drivers of the First Palestinian Intifada.
Pre-Assassination:
On March 7, 1988, a Palestinian fedayeen group consisting of Abdullah Klab, Mohammed Al-Hanafi, and Mohammed Issa carried out an explosion in the Dimona reactor. Israel claimed that Al-Wazir trained them militarily and planned the operation. The perpetrators hijacked a bus carrying scientists, technicians, and workers at the Israeli Dimona nuclear reactor, totaling around 50 people. The operation resulted in the deaths of three of them, in addition to the perpetrators.
The Infamous Call:
In his famous message to the Unified National Leadership for the First Intifada on March 27, 1988, martyr Abu Jihad warned against repeating what happened after "the infamous call directed by the Arab rulers to the Palestinian people in the 1936 revolution to end the uprising and the general strike."
"Lets continue the attack to prevent anyone from circumventing or encircling our uprising. We cannot repeat the failures of the past, and we will not allow anyone to repeat the history of the infamous call directed by the Arab rulers to our people in the 1936 revolution to end the uprising and the general strike."
The Story of that Infamous Call:
With the onset of the Palestinian revolution in April 1936 against British occupation and to demand independence and an end to Jewish immigration to Palestine, a general strike was declared - lasting about 6 months - across the country, leading to paralysis in various sectors, especially with the declaration of disobedience and refusal to pay taxes.
As armed operations by the rebels increased, amid support from all segments of the population who backed them in various ways and the joining of many Arab volunteers to the revolution, Britain failed to suppress it and to stop the strike. This prompted the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Jordan to mediate between the Higher Arab Committee and their friend, the British government.
A joint call was issued on October 10, 1936, by King Abdulaziz (Saudi Arabia), King Ghazi (Iraq), and Prince Abdullah (Jordan), stating: "We have been greatly distressed by the prevailing situation in Palestine... We call upon you to desist and restore calm to avoid shedding blood, relying on the good intentions of our friend, the British government."
The Higher Arab Committee responded to the mediation of the kings, and the end of the general strike was announced. The operations of the rebels continued, but at a slower pace, due to the position of the Higher Arab Committee, which responded to the call of the Arab kings. However, Britain did not commit to its promises and endorsed the Peel Commission to partition Palestine, while the Arab kings absolved themselves of their responsibilities.
On September 26, 1937, a group of Qassam rebels assassinated General Andrews, the governor of the Galilee district, who supported the Zionist settlement project in Palestine, leading to the renewal of the armed revolution before Britain succeeded in suppressing it by the end of 1939.
In 2019, Channel 13, the Israeli channel, broadcasted a documentary revealing new details about what it termed "the largest assassination operation" conducted by Israel. According to the report, Israeli forces from Mossad, Shin Bet, Sayeret Matkal, Shayetet 13, the Air Force, and the Navy spent around 48 hours at sea before commencing the operation. Approximately 161 Israeli warships carrying around 700 soldiers participated in the operation, with Ehud Barak overseeing it at sea. The report mentioned that the soldiers delayed executing the operation, as they needed to confirm the presence of the target in the house. Consequently, the Israeli army arrested a acquaintance of the minister named "Fayez Abu Rahma" from Gaza and asked him to contact the minister under Mossad supervision. Additionally, Mossad made another call from Tel Aviv pretending to be from Europe, and once they confirmed his presence in the house, the operation began.
In a documentary published by Al Jazeera, the minister's wife stated that she heard the sound of the door breaking and screaming. The minister took his weapon and went out to the hallway in front of his office and began shooting at them from a close range. The soldiers responded by firing, and after the minister fell to the ground, a soldier approached and emptied his magazine into the minister's body, followed by three other soldiers, with the number of bullets reaching around 70. It was also mentioned that a high-ranking figure believed to be "Mossad Yaa'lon" arrived and was shot in the head. The soldiers also fired into the room where the minister's young child "Nidal" was present, who was unharmed.
May Allah have mercy on the martyr Abu Jihad and all the martyrs of our people and our Arab and Islamic nation.
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