Faruq al-Qaddumi

Farouk al-Kaddoumi (also known as Abu Al-Lutuf ), (born in 1931 ) is the secretary-general of Fatah 's central committee and PLO 's political department in Tunisia .¹ Farouk Kaddoumi was born near Qalqilyah , later his family moved to Haifa and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War moved to Nablus . In 1954 he moved to Egypt and while studying economy and politology at the Cairo University , he joined the Baath party . In 1960 he joined Fatah in the United Arab Emirates . In 1965-66 he worked for the ministry of health of Kuwait but in 1966 was expelled from the country for anti-governmental activities connected with the PLO. By 1969 he became one of key figures in the PLO and after 1973 he headed its political department in Damascus , Syria . In 1976, Arafat and Kaddoumi met with Meir Vilner and Toufiq Toubi , heads of the Israeli Communist Party , known as Maki party and from which Hadash party eventually sprung up. This meeting led to a close cooperation. Kaddoumi participated in the activities of Said al-Muraghi (Abu Musa) group, including 1983 mutiny attempt against Yassir Arafat , but switched sides and was assigned to Central Committee of Fatah. A representative of the "Tunisian guard", Kaddoumi is known for his hardline views. In 1993 he sharply criticized the signing of the Oslo accords with Israel and refused to work in the Palestinian Authority . Upon Arafat's death, Farouk Kaddoumi was elected to the position of the chairman of Fatah movement. According to the BBC, "Mr Kaddoumi, who is seen as a hardliner, was among those who founded the Fatah movement in 1965. To show his opposition to the Oslo peace accord, he stayed behind in Tunis when his colleagues returned to Gaza and the West Bank to set up the PA a decade ago. Since taking the reins at Fatah, Mr Kaddoumi has said he is open to peace negotiations with Israel - but is also ready to pursue armed struggle if they fail." [1]²