Shafiq al-Hout
Encyclopedia
Shafiq al-Hout also spelled Shafik al-Hut (January 13, 1932–August 2, 2009) was a Palestinian politician and writer. Born in Jaffa
, he and his family fled to Beirut
at the onset of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
. There, al-Hout became a journalist at al-Hawadth newspaper. Using it as a platform, he founded the Palestine Liberation Front
in 1961 and later became a founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) in 1964. He remained a senior member of the organization, representing it in Lebanon
and the United Nations General Assembly
. Initially a close aid to Yasser Arafat
, al-Hout resigned from his position on the PLO Executive Committee, in protest of Arafat's signing of the Oslo Accords
.
in 1932 to the mayor of Jaffa at the time, known as the "Beiruti Mayor." He belonged to the al-Hout family which had its roots in Lebanon
; Shafiq's grandfather, Salim Youssef al-Hout, was originally from Beirut
and immigrated to Jaffa in the late 19th century, settling in the Manshiyyah quarter. While Shafiq's five siblings were born at his grandfather's house, he was born in his parents' home. According to Shafiq, at their grandfather's home, he and his siblings "played [in] for hours on end... Not very far from my house was a sandy playground where we played football with our neighbors."
Al-Hout received his schooling up to high school at the al-Ameriyyah Public School in the same class of Ibrahim Abu-Lughod
and Farouk Qaddoumi. He joined the boy scouts, and as a result, was able to form a clear picture about the institution. His first trip was to the Dead Sea
. During his childhood, one of his hobbies was visiting movie theaters, which were located in different parts of Jaffa, and swimming in the beaches on the city's coastline.
. Prior to their departure, in April, his brother Jamal, a Palestinian fighter who he described as "very spiritual", was killed. The al-Hout family was given a free visa by the Lebanese consul in Jaffa and boarded the Greek
vessel Dolores Upon their arrival to Beirut, their Lebanese cousin received them and they stayed in his house temporarily before renting an apartment in the city. Locals began to call al-Hout al-Yafawi ("the man from Jaffa").
Al-Hout entered the American University of Beirut
(AUB) in 1949. While at the university, he said many people attempted to influence his political beliefs, including George Habash
of the Arab Nationalist Movement
and Communists who favored an alliance with Soviet Union
. Al-Hout and his colleagues decided to establish a Palestinian club in Lebanon, but this was met by opposition from Hajj Amin al-Husayni's followers who at one time "severely beaten" them in an ambush at a Palestinian refugee camp.
Afterward, al-Hout decided to shift his focus to the AUB's campus where Ba'athists, other Arab nationalists, and Communists campaigned for support. He decided to join the Communists and in 1951 was detained for his activities by a presidential decree. He was sentenced to three months in prison and deportation from Lebanon, but his family convinced Lebanese prime minister Sami as-Solh
to suspend the sentence. By then, al-Hout's father was forced to ask for UNRWA rations due to his financial situation and al-Hout was suspended from the AUB for one year. He would graduate from the university with a BA in psychology in 1953.
's al-Maqassed School, but the administration disliked the discussions he frequently held with the students on the subject of the Palestinian cause, and eventually removed him from his post. Prior to his emigration to Kuwait
in 1956 for another teaching job, al-Hout obtained Lebanese citizenship, despite reservations by his father. It was during his brief stay in Kuwait that he met Yasser Arafat
and other Palestinian activists. Two years later, after correspondents with Salim al-Lawzi, he returned to Lebanon where he was given the post of chief editor at the Lebanese magazine al-Hawadeth run by al-Lawzi. He soon gained a reputation of being a Nasserist—a supporter of Egypt
ian president at the time, Gamal Abdel Nasser
—journalist.
, Jordan
, Amman
, the West Bank
, as well as people belonging to the different Palestinian classes, ranging from simple workers to teachers and engineers." Their stated aim was to struggle for the liberation of Palestine" and emphasize the Arab character of that cause. Al-Hout later served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab Journalists Union in 1963 and held this post until 1967. He formed an alliance with Ahmed Shukeiri, the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) and attended the first conference by the Palestinian National Council
(PNC) in Jerusalem in May 1964, becoming an original founder. He resigned from his post at al-Hawadeth to focus on his new post within the PLO.
Al-Hout was appointed representative and head of the organization's office in Lebanon in 1965, then joined the PLO's Executive Committee, during its first meeting in July 1966. Al-Hout encouraged the formation of sports clubs and scout troops in the refugee camps in Lebanon, partly as a means to recruit more refugees into the PLF, and tried to extend these program into the camps of Syria under the guise of the Palestinian Popular Organization. In spring 1966, he allied the PLF with the Palestinian National Liberation Front
, a Nasserist faction. Because of internal and external struggles in the PLO, he abdicated his position in the PLO-EC and his post as head of the PLF in the summer of 1968, leaving the latter group leaderless. That same year al-Hout became a founding member of the Union of Palestinian Writers. A number of other posts were also held by him, including membership in the Executive Committee of the International Organization of Journalists from 1964 to 1976.
In retaliation for publishing editorials critical of Syrian policy, gunmen from the pro-Syrian faction as-Sa'iqa
attacked the Beirut offices of PLO newspapers. They killed two journalists, but failed in assassinating al-Hout who wrote satirical columns for the daily al-Moharrer ("the Editor") at the time. From 1974, al-Hout represented the PLO at the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA).
During the Lebanese Civil War
, beginning in 1976, the 1982 Lebanon War
, and the Sabra and Shatila massacre
, al-Hout survived ten Israeli assassination attempts. He remained in Lebanon when Arafat and most of the PLO leadership were exiled from the country. As the PLO's representative to Lebanon, following the defeat of the organization to Israel
i forces in 1982, al-Hout was responsible for handing over its remaining weapons to the Lebanese Army after most of its heavy weaponry was donated to their ally, the Lebanese National Movement
(LNM). On December 19, 1984, he stated "The establishment of a Palestinian state over part of the Palestinian soil does not amount to the renunciation of the strategic aim. It is a pity that Israel realizes that... and knows that the establishment of such a state constitutes the reassertion of Palestinian national identity and the beginning of the end for Israel."
signed by Yasser Arafat
, al-Hout resigned from his post in August 1993 in the PLO-EC along with Palestinian cultural chief Mahmoud Darwish
and discontinued to represent the PLO at the UNGA. Al-Hout strongly advocated that all of historical Palestine
belonged to the Palestinians, in one state, rejecting the two-state solution
agreed on in the accords.
Nonetheless, al-Hout remained a member of the PNC until his death, but retired from politics. Instead, he began writing his memoirs and continued writing about Arab nationalism
. He was one of nine PLO-EC members, who signed a statement rejecting the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
—which would give the Palestinians limited self-rule over Gaza
and Jericho
—on October 4, 1995. Al-Hout stated he and many Palestinian refugee
s were worried that "Gaza and Jericho first" might be "Gaza and Jericho last." He remained critical of the PLO leadership's stance and helped in the coordination of the Damascus
-based Palestinian groups. Since 1996 he had been a member of the National Islamic Conference and became a founder of Mu'tamar al-Awda ("the Return Conference") since 2002. According to The Guardian
, al-Hout viewed recent Palestinian developments with "dejection and pessimism, though never despair."
said he died of cancer. He is survived by his son Hader, his two daughters Hanine and Syrine, and wife Bayan Nuwayhed. After a funeral service at al-Imam Ali mosque in Tariq al-Jdeideh, Lebanon, al-Hout's body was carried to the Martyrs of the Palestinian Revolution cemetery in Shatila.
Attendees at the funeral procession included Lebanon's former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
, Lebanese MPs Alaaeddine Terro, Walid Jumblatt
, Imad al-Hout. Also attending was the representative of Mahmoud Abbas
in Lebanon, Asaad Abdel Rahman, former deputy speaker Elie al-Firzili, the head of the Journalists' Union Melhim Karam, an Amal
delegation headed by the president of Amal's political bureau Jamil Hayek, and a Hamas
representative in Lebanon, Ali Baraka. Karam commemorated al-Hout and gave condolences to his family, saying in his eulogy, "Each moment of his life was filled with struggle and resistance... He wrote for a cause: for the dignity of the Arab people and for the holy land he tried his whole life to retrieve."
on the Palestinian
issue.
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, he and his family fled to 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...
at the onset of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. There, al-Hout became a journalist at al-Hawadth newspaper. Using it as a platform, he founded the Palestine Liberation Front
Palestine Liberation Front
The Palestine Liberation Front is a Palestinian militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Canada, the European Union and the USA. It is presently led by Dr. Wasel Abu Yousef.-Origins:...
in 1961 and later became a founder 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) in 1964. He remained a senior member of the organization, representing it in 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...
and the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
. Initially a close aid to Yasser Arafat
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...
, al-Hout resigned from his position on the PLO Executive Committee, in protest of Arafat's signing of the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
.
Life in Jaffa
Al-Hout was born in JaffaJaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
in 1932 to the mayor of Jaffa at the time, known as the "Beiruti Mayor." He belonged to the al-Hout family which had its roots in 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...
; Shafiq's grandfather, Salim Youssef al-Hout, was originally from 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...
and immigrated to Jaffa in the late 19th century, settling in the Manshiyyah quarter. While Shafiq's five siblings were born at his grandfather's house, he was born in his parents' home. According to Shafiq, at their grandfather's home, he and his siblings "played [in] for hours on end... Not very far from my house was a sandy playground where we played football with our neighbors."
Al-Hout received his schooling up to high school at the al-Ameriyyah Public School in the same class of Ibrahim Abu-Lughod
Ibrahim Abu-Lughod
Ibrahim Abu-Lughod was a Palestinian academic, characterised by Edward Said as "Palestine's foremost academic and intellectual" and by Rashid Khalidi as one of the first Arab-American scholars to have a really serious effect on the way the Middle East is portrayed in political science and in...
and Farouk Qaddoumi. He joined the boy scouts, and as a result, was able to form a clear picture about the institution. His first trip was to the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
. During his childhood, one of his hobbies was visiting movie theaters, which were located in different parts of Jaffa, and swimming in the beaches on the city's coastline.
Exodus to Lebanon
He graduated from al-Ameriyyah in 1948, and the same year al-Hout fled with his family to Lebanon at the onset of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
. Prior to their departure, in April, his brother Jamal, a Palestinian fighter who he described as "very spiritual", was killed. The al-Hout family was given a free visa by the Lebanese consul in Jaffa and boarded the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
vessel Dolores Upon their arrival to Beirut, their Lebanese cousin received them and they stayed in his house temporarily before renting an apartment in the city. Locals began to call al-Hout al-Yafawi ("the man from Jaffa").
Al-Hout entered the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
(AUB) in 1949. While at the university, he said many people attempted to influence his political beliefs, including George Habash
George Habash
George Habash also known by his laqab "al-Hakim" was a Palestinian nationalist. Habash, a Palestinian Christian, founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which pioneered the hijacking of airplanes as a Middle East militant tactic...
of the Arab Nationalist Movement
Arab Nationalist Movement
The Arab Nationalist Movement , also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Arab world, most famously so within the Palestinian movement.-Origins & Ideology:The Arab Nationalist Movement had its origins in a...
and Communists who favored an alliance with Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Al-Hout and his colleagues decided to establish a Palestinian club in Lebanon, but this was met by opposition from Hajj Amin al-Husayni's followers who at one time "severely beaten" them in an ambush at a Palestinian refugee camp.
Afterward, al-Hout decided to shift his focus to the AUB's campus where Ba'athists, other Arab nationalists, and Communists campaigned for support. He decided to join the Communists and in 1951 was detained for his activities by a presidential decree. He was sentenced to three months in prison and deportation from Lebanon, but his family convinced Lebanese prime minister Sami as-Solh
Sami as-Solh
Sami Solh was a Lebanese Sunni Muslim politician. He served as Prime Minister of Lebanon 7 times ....
to suspend the sentence. By then, al-Hout's father was forced to ask for UNRWA rations due to his financial situation and al-Hout was suspended from the AUB for one year. He would graduate from the university with a BA in psychology in 1953.
Teaching and writing career
After graduating from the AUB, he took up the profession of being a teacher in BeirutBeirut
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...
's al-Maqassed School, but the administration disliked the discussions he frequently held with the students on the subject of the Palestinian cause, and eventually removed him from his post. Prior to his emigration to Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
in 1956 for another teaching job, al-Hout obtained Lebanese citizenship, despite reservations by his father. It was during his brief stay in Kuwait that he met Yasser Arafat
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 other Palestinian activists. Two years later, after correspondents with Salim al-Lawzi, he returned to Lebanon where he was given the post of chief editor at the Lebanese magazine al-Hawadeth run by al-Lawzi. He soon gained a reputation of being a Nasserist—a supporter of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian president at the time, Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
—journalist.
Founding of the PLF and PLO
Al-Hout was one of the founders of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) in 1961, the Palestinian faction which he supported throughout his life. Through al-Hawadeth as a platform, al-Hout was able to start the underground political movement and issued a monthly newsletter titled Tariq al-Awda, or "The Path of Return," which until 1964 was printed at al-Hawadeth Printing House. Prior to that, he helped establish the PLF's newspaper Abtal al-Awda ("Heroes of the Return") in 1960. Membership in the PLF increased steadily and according to al-Hout, by 1964 it included "newcomers from the refugee camps in Lebanon, Kuwait, SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, 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...
, Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, 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...
, as well as people belonging to the different Palestinian classes, ranging from simple workers to teachers and engineers." Their stated aim was to struggle for the liberation of Palestine" and emphasize the Arab character of that cause. Al-Hout later served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Arab Journalists Union in 1963 and held this post until 1967. He formed an alliance with Ahmed Shukeiri, the Chairman 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) and attended the first conference by the Palestinian National Council
Palestinian National Council
The Palestinian National Council is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and elects its Executive Committee, which assumes leadership of the organization between its sessions. The Council normally meets every two years. Resolutions are passed by a simple majority with a...
(PNC) in Jerusalem in May 1964, becoming an original founder. He resigned from his post at al-Hawadeth to focus on his new post within the PLO.
Al-Hout was appointed representative and head of the organization's office in Lebanon in 1965, then joined the PLO's Executive Committee, during its first meeting in July 1966. Al-Hout encouraged the formation of sports clubs and scout troops in the refugee camps in Lebanon, partly as a means to recruit more refugees into the PLF, and tried to extend these program into the camps of Syria under the guise of the Palestinian Popular Organization. In spring 1966, he allied the PLF with the Palestinian National Liberation Front
Palestinian National Liberation Front
Palestinian National Liberation Front was a Palestinian political and military organization, based amongst Palestinian refugees in Syria. The group existed 1968-1972. The group was led by Hassan Sabarini , a Palestinian National Council member.When the group disintegrated, most of its cadres...
, a Nasserist faction. Because of internal and external struggles in the PLO, he abdicated his position in the PLO-EC and his post as head of the PLF in the summer of 1968, leaving the latter group leaderless. That same year al-Hout became a founding member of the Union of Palestinian Writers. A number of other posts were also held by him, including membership in the Executive Committee of the International Organization of Journalists from 1964 to 1976.
In retaliation for publishing editorials critical of Syrian policy, gunmen from the pro-Syrian faction as-Sa'iqa
As-Sa'iqa
As-Sa'iqa is a Palestinian Baathist political and military faction created and controlled by Syria...
attacked the Beirut offices of PLO newspapers. They killed two journalists, but failed in assassinating al-Hout who wrote satirical columns for the daily al-Moharrer ("the Editor") at the time. From 1974, al-Hout represented the PLO at the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
(UNGA).
During the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
, beginning in 1976, the 1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
, and the Sabra and Shatila massacre
Sabra and Shatila massacre
The Sabra and Shatila massacre took place in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon between September 16 and September 18, 1982, during the Lebanese civil war. Palestinian and Lebanese civilians were massacred in the camps by Christian Lebanese Phalangists while the camp...
, al-Hout survived ten Israeli assassination attempts. He remained in Lebanon when Arafat and most of the PLO leadership were exiled from the country. As the PLO's representative to Lebanon, following the defeat of the organization to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces in 1982, al-Hout was responsible for handing over its remaining weapons to the Lebanese Army after most of its heavy weaponry was donated to their ally, the Lebanese National Movement
Lebanese National Movement
The Lebanese National Movement or Mouvement National Libanais in French, was a front of parties and organizations active during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War...
(LNM). On December 19, 1984, he stated "The establishment of a Palestinian state over part of the Palestinian soil does not amount to the renunciation of the strategic aim. It is a pity that Israel realizes that... and knows that the establishment of such a state constitutes the reassertion of Palestinian national identity and the beginning of the end for Israel."
Oslo and later life
In 1991, Arafat—wanting his admired, but loud-spoken, friend inside the leading circle—reappointed al-Hout to the PLO-EC. He then became a founding member of the Arab National Conference in 1992. In response to the 1993 Oslo AccordsOslo Accords
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles , was an attempt to resolve the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict...
signed by Yasser Arafat
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...
, al-Hout resigned from his post in August 1993 in the PLO-EC along with Palestinian cultural chief Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet...
and discontinued to represent the PLO at the UNGA. Al-Hout strongly advocated that all of historical Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
belonged to the Palestinians, in one state, rejecting the two-state solution
Two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
agreed on in the accords.
Nonetheless, al-Hout remained a member of the PNC until his death, but retired from politics. Instead, he began writing his memoirs and continued writing about Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world...
. He was one of nine PLO-EC members, who signed a statement rejecting the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, the Interim Agreement, Oslo 2, Oslo II, and Taba, was a key and complex agreement governing several aspects of the Palestinian territories of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.-History:It...
—which would give the Palestinians limited self-rule over Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
and Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
—on October 4, 1995. Al-Hout stated he and many Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
s were worried that "Gaza and Jericho first" might be "Gaza and Jericho last." He remained critical of the PLO leadership's stance and helped in the coordination of the Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
-based Palestinian groups. Since 1996 he had been a member of the National Islamic Conference and became a founder of Mu'tamar al-Awda ("the Return Conference") since 2002. According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, al-Hout viewed recent Palestinian developments with "dejection and pessimism, though never despair."
Death
Al-Hout died at the age of 77 on August 2, 2009. The cause of his death was not clear, but an official at the Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
said he died of cancer. He is survived by his son Hader, his two daughters Hanine and Syrine, and wife Bayan Nuwayhed. After a funeral service at al-Imam Ali mosque in Tariq al-Jdeideh, Lebanon, al-Hout's body was carried to the Martyrs of the Palestinian Revolution cemetery in Shatila.
Attendees at the funeral procession included Lebanon's former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
Fouad Siniora
Fuad Siniora is a Lebanese politician, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon, a position he held from 19 July 2005 to May 25, 2008 the date of the election of the new President of Lebanon; he was renominated to the post on 28 May 2008 and held the post as Acting President between those...
, Lebanese MPs Alaaeddine Terro, Walid Jumblatt
Walid Jumblatt
Walid Jumblatt is a Lebanese politician and the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party . He is the most prominent leader of Lebanon's Druze community.-Family:...
, Imad al-Hout. Also attending was the representative of Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
in Lebanon, Asaad Abdel Rahman, former deputy speaker Elie al-Firzili, the head of the Journalists' Union Melhim Karam, an Amal
Amal Movement
Amal Movement is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments the acronym for which, in Arabic, is "amal", meaning "hope."Amal was founded in 1975 as the militia wing of the Movement of the Disinherited, a Shi'a political movement founded by Musa...
delegation headed by the president of Amal's political bureau Jamil Hayek, and a Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
representative in Lebanon, Ali Baraka. Karam commemorated al-Hout and gave condolences to his family, saying in his eulogy, "Each moment of his life was filled with struggle and resistance... He wrote for a cause: for the dignity of the Arab people and for the holy land he tried his whole life to retrieve."
List of literary works
Al-Hout authored several books in ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
on the Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
issue.
- The Left and Arab Nationalism. (1959) Cairo.
- The Palestinian between Diaspora and State (1977) Beirut.
- Moments of History (1986) JeddahJeddahJeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
- Twenty Years with the PLO: Memoirs (1986) Beirut.
- Gaza-Jericho Agreement First: The Inadmissible Agreement (1994) Beirut.