Mohammed Dahlan
Encyclopedia
Mohammed Dahlan born on September 29, 1961 in Khan Younis Refugee Camp, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip
also known by the kunya
or nom de guerre Abu Fadi (Arabic: أبو فادي) (Muhammad Dahlan is another spelling of his name) is a Palestinian
politician, the former leader of Fatah
in Gaza
. Dahlan was born to a refugee family from Hamama
, the youngest of six children.
Dahlan became politically active as a teenager and in 1981 helped to establish the Gaza
branch of the Fatah
Youth Movement Fatah Hawks
in the Gaza Strip
. Between 1981 and 1986, he was arrested by Israel
11 times for his leading role in the movement. During his time in prison, he learned to speak Hebrew fluently. Following his release from prison, Dahlan completed a BA in Business Administration at the Islamic University of Gaza
.
In 2007, Dahlan assisted in a U.S. plan to overthrow the elected Hamas
government in Gaza
, but the coup failed when Hamas carried out a counter-coup, and routed Fatah
forces in Gaza instead.
in Gaza after the signing of the Oslo Accords. He built up a force of 20,000 men, making him one of the most powerful Palestinian leaders, dealing regularly with the CIA and Israeli intelligence officials. His forces were accused of torturing Hamas detainees throughout the 1990s, allegations Dahlan denies. During this period Gaza was nicknamed "Dahlanistan" due to his power. His reputation was damaged in the Karni scandal of 1997 when it was revealed that Dahlan was diverting 40% of the taxes levied at the Karni Crossing (an estimated one million Shekels a month) to his personal bank account.
and expressing dissatisfaction with a lack of coherent policy.
In 2002, he resigned his post as head of the Preventive Security in Gaza in the hope of becoming the Interior Minister; this did not occur, he was offered a post as security adviser but rejected it. In April 2003, he was appointed the Palestinian Minister of State for Security by Mahmoud Abbas
, despite the objection of Arafat. By September he had been ousted when Abbas resigned as Prime Minister, and was replaced by Hakam Balawi
.
He repeatedly tried to campaign on a reform and anti-corruption ticket and tried to profile himself as an outspoken critic of Yasser Arafat, although many observers dispute his personal integrity. Nevertheless Dahlan and his followers in internal Fatah elections won over most of the Fatah sections in Gaza.
In 2004, Dahlan was assumed to have been behind week-long unrests in Gaza following the appointment of Yasser Arafat's nephew Mousa Arafat as head of Gaza police forces. This appointment was considered by some a deliberate step to weaken Dahlan's position before the Israeli disengagement
from the Gaza strip and sparked massive protests.
in the Palestinian legislative election of 2006
as a representative for Khan Younis. Dahlan took a tough stance against Hamas
, calling their election victory a disaster and threatening to 'haunt them from now till the end of their term' and to 'rough up and humiliate' Fatah supporters tempted to join the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
On December 14, 2006 gunmen attempted to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya
as he crossed Gaza's border with Egypt, killing a bodyguard and wounding five others, and sparking further clashes between Hamas and Fatah supporters in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas accused Dahlan of orchestrating the attack. Dahlan rejected the accusations, saying "the Hamas government is fully responsible for yesterday's events."
On January 7, 2007, Dahlan held the biggest-ever rally of Fatah supporters in the Gaza strip, where he denounced Hamas as 'a bunch of murderers and thieves' and vowed that 'we will do everything, I repeat, everything, to protect Fatah activists'. In response Hamas labeled Dahlan a 'putschist' and accused him of bringing Palestinians to the brink of civil war.
Dahlan was a Fatah representative in negotiations which resulted in the Hamas & Fatah Mecca Agreement
of February 8, 2007, in which both sides agreed to stop the military clashes in Gaza and form a government of national unity. In March 2007, despite objections from Hamas, Dahlan was appointed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
to lead the newly re-established Palestinian National Security Council, overseeing all security forces in the Palestinian territories. Dahlan organised paramilitary units of several thousand fighters trained with American assistance in Arab countries, and lobbied Israel to allow Fatah forces in Gaza to receive large shipments of arms and ammunition to fight Hamas.
In October 2007 The Bush administration reportedly exerted heavy pressure on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to appoint Dahlan as his deputy. Some Fatah officials said that the US and some EU countries had made it clear they would like to see Dahlan succeed Abbas as head of the PA.
In August 2009 Dahlan was elected to the Fatah Central Committee However the results were controversial, with Fatah suffering mass resignations over claims the elections were fraudulent.
Im June 2011 he was expelled from his party because of repeated criticism of Abbas, in September his house was raided by the Palestinian police, his private armed guards where arrested. In August 2011 his former party accused him even that he was responsible for Araft's death by sendig him the poison.
, Ahmad Hassanain and Anwar Shheibar, are former members of a death cell which carried out violent suppression of Hamas members, and work at a construction company in Dubai owned by Dahlan. A senior Hamas official told Al-Hayat newspaper that the two provided logistical aid to the Mossad hit team alleged to have carried out the assasination, renting them cars and hotel rooms. Dahlan denied the charges, saying "I don't have the towers people say I have in Dubai."
, with whom he cultivated a deep and personal rivalry, claimed for example in 2003 that everybody knew Dahlan was an Israeli agent. He has also been criticized for his good relationship with Arafat's long-time financial adviser Muhammad Rashid and Dahlan's own London-based business. Dahlan is alleged to have enriched himself through corruption, his personal wealth has been estimated at well over $120 million.
Others claim that he, for the sake of deterring political rivals and counterweighting the numerous armed militias, maintained in 2003 and 2004 a private army in the Gaza Strip
which was trained and equipped by American services, with Israel intending to force a conflict between Dahlan's forces and Hamas.
Dahlan has also faced criticism regarding his role in Gaza turmoil, especially in exchanging hostilities with rival security forces commander Ghazi Jabali
. In 2003, Preventative Security Service gunmen raided the offices of Jabali's General Security organization, going so far as to jam his head into his office toilet.
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
also known by the kunya
Kunya (Arabic)
A kunya is a teknonym, the name of an adult derived from their child, especially their eldest son, in Arabic names.A kunya is expressed by the use of abū or umm in a genitive construction, i.e "father of" or "mother of" as a honorific in place of or alongside given names in the Arab world and the...
or nom de guerre Abu Fadi (Arabic: أبو فادي) (Muhammad Dahlan is another spelling of his name) is a 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...
politician, the former leader of Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
in 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,...
. Dahlan was born to a refugee family from Hamama
Hamama
Hamama was a Palestinian Arab town of over 5,000 inhabitants that was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was located 24 kilometers north of Gaza, between Ashkelon and Ashdod.- History :...
, the youngest of six children.
Dahlan became politically active as a teenager and in 1981 helped to establish the 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,...
branch of the Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
Youth Movement Fatah Hawks
Fatah Hawks
The Fatah Hawks is the name of two Palestinian militant groups. One is a popular movement of Palestinian youth in the West Bank and Gaza in the 1980s. The other is an offshoot of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades which has links to the dominant Fatah movement...
in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. Between 1981 and 1986, he was arrested by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
11 times for his leading role in the movement. During his time in prison, he learned to speak Hebrew fluently. Following his release from prison, Dahlan completed a BA in Business Administration at the Islamic University of Gaza
Islamic University of Gaza
Islamic University of Gaza is an independent Palestinian university established in 1978 in Gaza City, Palestinian territories. The university, according to its website, has 10 faculties capable of awarding either B.A., B.Sc., M.A., M.Sc., Diploma and higher diploma in their respective disciplines...
.
In 2007, Dahlan assisted in a U.S. plan to overthrow the elected 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...
government in 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,...
, but the coup failed when Hamas carried out a counter-coup, and routed Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
forces in Gaza instead.
Oslo Years
Dahlan was chosen to head the Preventive Security ServicePreventive Security Service
The Preventive Security Force is the official security apparatus of the Palestinian National Authority. It was established in 1994 by President Yasser Arafat in accordance with the Oslo Accords....
in Gaza after the signing of the Oslo Accords. He built up a force of 20,000 men, making him one of the most powerful Palestinian leaders, dealing regularly with the CIA and Israeli intelligence officials. His forces were accused of torturing Hamas detainees throughout the 1990s, allegations Dahlan denies. During this period Gaza was nicknamed "Dahlanistan" due to his power. His reputation was damaged in the Karni scandal of 1997 when it was revealed that Dahlan was diverting 40% of the taxes levied at the Karni Crossing (an estimated one million Shekels a month) to his personal bank account.
Second Intifada
In 2001 he upset Arafat by beginning to call for reform in the Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
and expressing dissatisfaction with a lack of coherent policy.
In 2002, he resigned his post as head of the Preventive Security in Gaza in the hope of becoming the Interior Minister; this did not occur, he was offered a post as security adviser but rejected it. In April 2003, he was appointed the Palestinian Minister of State for Security by 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...
, despite the objection of Arafat. By September he had been ousted when Abbas resigned as Prime Minister, and was replaced by Hakam Balawi
Hakam Balawi
Hakam Umar As‘ad Balawi is a Palestinian politician and has been a member of the Palestinian National Authority cabinet and the Palestinian Legislative Council. He was born in the town of Bal'a, near Tulkarm in British Mandate Palestine....
.
He repeatedly tried to campaign on a reform and anti-corruption ticket and tried to profile himself as an outspoken critic of Yasser Arafat, although many observers dispute his personal integrity. Nevertheless Dahlan and his followers in internal Fatah elections won over most of the Fatah sections in Gaza.
In 2004, Dahlan was assumed to have been behind week-long unrests in Gaza following the appointment of Yasser Arafat's nephew Mousa Arafat as head of Gaza police forces. This appointment was considered by some a deliberate step to weaken Dahlan's position before the Israeli disengagement
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
from the Gaza strip and sparked massive protests.
Gaza Infighting
On January 26, 2006, Dahlan was narrowly elected to the Palestinian Legislative CouncilPalestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza...
in the Palestinian legislative election of 2006
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
as a representative for Khan Younis. Dahlan took a tough stance against 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...
, calling their election victory a disaster and threatening to 'haunt them from now till the end of their term' and to 'rough up and humiliate' Fatah supporters tempted to join the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
On December 14, 2006 gunmen attempted to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya
Ismail Haniya
Ismail Haniyeh ; is a senior political leader of Hamas and one of two disputed Prime Ministers of the Palestinian National Authority, the matter being under political and legal dispute. He became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won...
as he crossed Gaza's border with Egypt, killing a bodyguard and wounding five others, and sparking further clashes between Hamas and Fatah supporters in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas accused Dahlan of orchestrating the attack. Dahlan rejected the accusations, saying "the Hamas government is fully responsible for yesterday's events."
On January 7, 2007, Dahlan held the biggest-ever rally of Fatah supporters in the Gaza strip, where he denounced Hamas as 'a bunch of murderers and thieves' and vowed that 'we will do everything, I repeat, everything, to protect Fatah activists'. In response Hamas labeled Dahlan a 'putschist' and accused him of bringing Palestinians to the brink of civil war.
Dahlan was a Fatah representative in negotiations which resulted in the Hamas & Fatah Mecca Agreement
Hamas & Fatah Mecca Agreement
Hamas & Fatah Mecca Agreement is an agreement between Fatah and Hamas signed in the city of Mecca on February 8, 2007 after eight days of talks, agreeing to stop the military clashes in Gaza and form a government of national unity. Representatives from the Fatah side included the President of the...
of February 8, 2007, in which both sides agreed to stop the military clashes in Gaza and form a government of national unity. In March 2007, despite objections from Hamas, Dahlan was appointed by Palestinian President 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...
to lead the newly re-established Palestinian National Security Council, overseeing all security forces in the Palestinian territories. Dahlan organised paramilitary units of several thousand fighters trained with American assistance in Arab countries, and lobbied Israel to allow Fatah forces in Gaza to receive large shipments of arms and ammunition to fight Hamas.
Battle of Gaza
In July 2007, Dahlan resigned from his post as national security adviser. The resignation was little more than a formality, since Mahmoud Abbas had issued a decree dissolving his national security council immediately after the Hamas takeover of Gaza. Dahlan has been blamed by many in Fatah for the rapid collapse of their forces in Gaza in the face of a Hamas offensive that lasted less than a week. During the fighting Dahlan's house on the coast of Gaza was seized by Hamas militants and subsequently demolished. He and most of the other senior security commanders of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority security forces were not in Gaza during the fighting, leading to charges that their men had been abandoned in the field.Return to West Bank
Shortly after his forces were expelled from Gaza, Dahlan re-established himself in the West Bank. Tensions grew between his supporters and opponents when Fatah leader and former Interior Minister Hani al-Hassan gave an interview on Al-Jazeera in which he said what happened in Gaza was not a war between Fatah and Hamas; but between Hamas and Fatah collaborators who served the Americans and the Israelis, making clear that he was referring to Dahlan's supporters. Representatives of Dahlan pressured Mahmoud Abbas to fire and punish Al-Hassan, while masked gunmen opened fire on his home in Ramallah. Al-Hassan accused Dahlan of planning to murder him, a charge which Dahlan denied.In October 2007 The Bush administration reportedly exerted heavy pressure on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to appoint Dahlan as his deputy. Some Fatah officials said that the US and some EU countries had made it clear they would like to see Dahlan succeed Abbas as head of the PA.
In August 2009 Dahlan was elected to the Fatah Central Committee However the results were controversial, with Fatah suffering mass resignations over claims the elections were fraudulent.
Im June 2011 he was expelled from his party because of repeated criticism of Abbas, in September his house was raided by the Palestinian police, his private armed guards where arrested. In August 2011 his former party accused him even that he was responsible for Araft's death by sendig him the poison.
Al-Mabhouh Assassination
Hamas has claimed that two Palestinians arrested in Dubai for suspected involvement in the assassination of Mahmoud al-MabhouhMahmoud al-Mabhouh
Mahmoud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhouh was a senior Hamas military commander and one of the founders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military affiliate of Hamas...
, Ahmad Hassanain and Anwar Shheibar, are former members of a death cell which carried out violent suppression of Hamas members, and work at a construction company in Dubai owned by Dahlan. A senior Hamas official told Al-Hayat newspaper that the two provided logistical aid to the Mossad hit team alleged to have carried out the assasination, renting them cars and hotel rooms. Dahlan denied the charges, saying "I don't have the towers people say I have in Dubai."
Criticism
Other Palestinians have criticized Dahlan. Jibril RajoubJibril Rajoub
Jibril Rajoub is a Palestinian political figure. He was the head of the Preventive Security Force in the West Bank until being dismissed in 2002. He was elected to the Fatah Central Committee at the party's 2009 congress...
, with whom he cultivated a deep and personal rivalry, claimed for example in 2003 that everybody knew Dahlan was an Israeli agent. He has also been criticized for his good relationship with Arafat's long-time financial adviser Muhammad Rashid and Dahlan's own London-based business. Dahlan is alleged to have enriched himself through corruption, his personal wealth has been estimated at well over $120 million.
Others claim that he, for the sake of deterring political rivals and counterweighting the numerous armed militias, maintained in 2003 and 2004 a private army in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
which was trained and equipped by American services, with Israel intending to force a conflict between Dahlan's forces and Hamas.
Dahlan has also faced criticism regarding his role in Gaza turmoil, especially in exchanging hostilities with rival security forces commander Ghazi Jabali
Ghazi al-Jabali
Ghazi al-Jabali was the Gaza Strip Chief of the Preventive Security Service, appointed by the Palestinian Authority. Al-Jabali, who held the rank of Major-General at the close of his tenure in the Palestinian security forces, had been a police commander and chief of the Gaza police since the early...
. In 2003, Preventative Security Service gunmen raided the offices of Jabali's General Security organization, going so far as to jam his head into his office toilet.
Terrorist Financing Scandal
After years of allegations by watchdogs that Dahlan had been funneling millions to al-Qaeda and other terrorists in Gaza, on July 31, 2011 Egypt accused him of financing the terrorists who blew up the natural gas pipeline supplying Israel.Famous quotes
- "I don't have the towers people say I have in Dubai."
- "Snipers or no snipers, let Hamas shoot and kill me, I want to be close to the masses!"
Sources
- Dahlan, Mohammed: European Institute for Research on Mediterranean and Euro-Arab Cooperation
- Profile: Mohammed Dahlan. BBC News/Middle East
- http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/palestinian_biographies/muhammad-dahlan-biography.html
- EI: Who is Mohammad Dahlan
- EI: Civil War in Palestine?