Ziyad al-Nakhalah
Ziyad al-Nakhalah (sometimes Ziad Nakhale; Arabic: زياد النخالة; born 6 April 1953) is a Palestinian politician who is the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Ziyad al-Nakhalah | |
|---|---|
زياد النخالة | |
al-Nakhalah in 2022 | |
| Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine | |
| Assumed office 28 September 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Ramadan Shalah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 April 1953 Khan Yunis, All-Palestine Protectorate |
| Political party | Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine |
| Residence(s) | Beirut, Lebanon and Damascus, Syria |
Nakhalah was born in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip in 1953. His father was killed by the Israeli army during the 1956 Khan Yunis massacre. Nakhalah trained as a teacher in Gaza City. In 1971, al-Nakhalah was sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel because of his militant activities with the Arab Liberation Front, and was later released in a prisoner swap in 1985.
After his release from Israeli prison, he was tasked with establishing the PIJ's military wing in the Gaza Strip, the Al-Quds Brigades. Al-Nakhalah was detained again by Israel in April 1988 for his role in the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation, and was exiled to Lebanon in August 1988 with other PIJ leaders. Nakhalah became deputy secretary general of PIJ in 1995, and was later elected secretary general of PIJ in 2018.
On 23 January 2014, Nakhalah was designated a Specially Designated Terrorist by the United States, resulting in his property and interests in the United States being frozen. Since 28 September 2018, the PIJ has been declared a terrorist organization by several countries.