Bassam Abu Sharif
Encyclopedia
Bassam Abu Sharif is a former senior adviser to the late Yasser Arafat
and press officer of the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO).
Formerly a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP), Abu Sharif was dubbed the "face of terror" by Time Magazine for his role in the Dawson's Field hijackings
in 1970, when the PFLP hijacked Pan Am, Swissair
, and TWA
flights — a fourth pair of hijackers on an El Al
flight were overpowered by security guards and passengers — and blew them up in the Jordan
ian desert, triggering King Hussein's expulsion of the PLO from Jordan, which became known as Black September
.
He lost four fingers, and was left deaf in one ear and blind in one eye, when a bomb exploded in his hands in Beirut
, Lebanon
in 1972. The assassination attempt was carried out by Mossad
who hid the explosives in the book The Memoirs of Che Guevara
, and sent the book to Sharif.
Within PFLP, he began to favor a reduced emphasis on armed struggle and closer cooperation with Fatah, the dominant PLO faction. As a result, he was removed from the PFLP Politburo in 1981, and demoted running external relations. In drawing closer to Fatah leader Yasir Arafat and meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he was expelled from the PFLP in 1987. In a non-partisan role, he became an advisor to Arafat and was able to float some peace proposals based on a two-state solution and preparing Palestinians for the compromises made in Oslo. He returned to Ramallah in 1996 as a presidential advisor and often writing unofficial statements of the Palestinian position in the peace process.
In 1995, he co-authored the book Best of Enemies with Uzi Mahnaimi, an Israeli intelligence officer.
Writing in the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds in April 2005, Abu Sharif called for a "popular peaceful uprising" of Palestinians through massive nonviolent resistance to prevent Israel
from annexing any additional land in the West Bank
.
Bassam Abu Sharif has two children, Omar and Karma, from a previous marriage.
on April 25, 2010 (as translated by MEMRI), Abu Sharif alleged that former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
was responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy
, due to Kennedy's policy regarding Israeli's Dimona nuclear plant:
In the same interview, Abu Sharif alleged that US President Barack Obama
was the target of an assassination plot by Yemenite Jews
:
Abu Sharif declined to provide a source for his allegations, but stated that: "I am responsible for every word I say, and if they want to know more, they can come to me."
Bassam Abu Sharif- Arafat and the Dream of Palestine : An Insider's Account- ISBN 9780230608016
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
and press officer of the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
(PLO).
Formerly a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian Marxist-Leninist organisation founded in 1967. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization , the largest being Fatah...
(PFLP), Abu Sharif was dubbed the "face of terror" by Time Magazine for his role in the Dawson's Field hijackings
Dawson's Field hijackings
In the Dawson's Field hijackings five jet aircraft bound for New York City were hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine...
in 1970, when the PFLP hijacked Pan Am, Swissair
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
, and TWA
Twa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
flights — a fourth pair of hijackers on an El Al
El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...
flight were overpowered by security guards and passengers — and blew them up in the Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian desert, triggering King Hussein's expulsion of the PLO from Jordan, which became known as Black September
Black September in Jordan
September 1970 is known as the Black September in Arab history and sometimes is referred to as the "era of regrettable events." It was a month when Hashemite King Hussein of Jordan moved to quash the militancy of Palestinian organizations and restore his monarchy's rule over the country. The...
.
He lost four fingers, and was left deaf in one ear and blind in one eye, when a bomb exploded in his hands in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in 1972. The assassination attempt was carried out by Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
who hid the explosives in the book The Memoirs of Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
, and sent the book to Sharif.
Within PFLP, he began to favor a reduced emphasis on armed struggle and closer cooperation with Fatah, the dominant PLO faction. As a result, he was removed from the PFLP Politburo in 1981, and demoted running external relations. In drawing closer to Fatah leader Yasir Arafat and meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he was expelled from the PFLP in 1987. In a non-partisan role, he became an advisor to Arafat and was able to float some peace proposals based on a two-state solution and preparing Palestinians for the compromises made in Oslo. He returned to Ramallah in 1996 as a presidential advisor and often writing unofficial statements of the Palestinian position in the peace process.
In 1995, he co-authored the book Best of Enemies with Uzi Mahnaimi, an Israeli intelligence officer.
Writing in the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds in April 2005, Abu Sharif called for a "popular peaceful uprising" of Palestinians through massive nonviolent resistance to prevent Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
from annexing any additional land in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
.
Bassam Abu Sharif has two children, Omar and Karma, from a previous marriage.
Conspiracy Allegations
In an interview on Abu Dhabi TVAbu Dhabi TV
Abu Dhabi Al Oula is an Arabic television station that originally launched in 1969 but was re-launched in 2000 and again in 2008. It broadcasts from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and is owned by Abu Dhabi Media Company...
on April 25, 2010 (as translated by MEMRI), Abu Sharif alleged that former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
was responsible for the assassination of John F. Kennedy
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, due to Kennedy's policy regarding Israeli's Dimona nuclear plant:
"Ben-Gurion gave the order to assassinate Kennedy. I take full responsibility for every word I say. The Mossad collaborated with the American mafia, and once Oswald had killed Kennedy, the Mossad sent a Jew called [Jack] RubyJack RubyJacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
to kill him. Then the MossadMossadThe Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
killed 22 witnesses, and the case was closed...these files have not been made public, due to Jewish Zionist pressure."
In the same interview, Abu Sharif alleged that US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was the target of an assassination plot by Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
:
"I am warning the American agencies, like the CIA and FBI, which are fast asleep, that a plot to assassinate Obama is in motion, and that the group that will attempt to assassinate Obama consists of Yemenite JewsYemenite JewsYemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
under the guise of Al-QaedaAl-QaedaAl-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
."
Abu Sharif declined to provide a source for his allegations, but stated that: "I am responsible for every word I say, and if they want to know more, they can come to me."
Works
- Bassam Abu-Sharif and Uzi Mahnaimi. The Best of Enemies: The Memoirs of Bassam Abu-Sharif and Uzi Mahnaimi, 1995. ISBN 978-0-316-00401-5
- Tried by Fire, 1996. ISBN 978-0-7515-1636-4
Further reading
Arafat and the Dream of Palestine : An Insider's AccountBassam Abu Sharif- Arafat and the Dream of Palestine : An Insider's Account- ISBN 9780230608016
External links
- It Happened to me, I was Blown up by a Parcel Bomb by Clare Campbell, Daily Mail, July 11, 2009
- BBC Interview with Bassam Abu Sharif BBC World Service, 7:32am Sunday 12 July 2009