Dr. Fadi M. AlBatsh
Born1983
Gaza Strip
Died21 April 2018(2018-04-21) (aged 34–35)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
NationalityPalestinian
Occupation(s)Engineer, Researcher and Lecturer

Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh (Arabic: فادي محمد البطش) was a Palestinian engineer, academic and member of Hamas. He was killed on 21 April 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while heading to a mosque for dawn prayers.[1] After al-Batsh's death, Hamas's military wing claimed him as a member and described him as a commander.

Biography

While living in Gaza, he was employed by the Energy Authority and was a resident of the city of Jabalia. He received a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Malaya in 2015 and during the course of his study, published 18 scholarly pieces of research featured in a number of international journals. In 2016 he received an award from the Malaysian treasury. Fadi was also an imam and involved with Islamic organizations such as MyCARE.[2]

Al-Batsh was a lecturer in electrical engineering at the Universiti Kuala Lumpur British-Malaysian-Institute (UniKL BMI).[3] He had been living in Malaysia since 2011.[4]

Assassination

On 21 April 2018, he was shot dead by two gunmen on a motorcycle on a street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[5]

Reactions

After al-Batsh's death, Hamas's military wing claimed him as a member and described him as a commander.[6]

Al-Batsh's family accused Mossad of being responsible for the killing. Israel denied any involvement in the assassination.[4][7] Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called his killing a "terrible crime" and attributed it to Mossad.[3]

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman described al-Batsh as "no saint and he didn’t deal with improving infrastructure in Gaza. He was engaged in the production of rockets, in improving rockets’ accuracy... We constantly see a settling of accounts between various factions in the terrorist organizations and I suppose that is what happened in this case."[8][6]

Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Fadi was "believed to have become a liability for a country hostile to Palestine".[9]

Humanitarian Care Malaysia (MyCARE) chairman Associate Professor Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor said Fadi was an expert in renewable energy sources, especially in regards to generator engineering. We don’t deny the possibility that his achievements and his capabilities had perhaps made him a target for Israeli Zionists. In fact, before this he had mentioned his worry that he would be attacked by Apache helicopter gunships back in Palestine, and mentioned that 18 members of his extended family had been killed in Gaza in 2009 alone."[10]

Personal life

Fadi was married and has three children.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Palestinian professor killed in Malaysia, family accuses Israeli agency". Al Arabiya English. AFP. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Islamic Jihad: Israel behind killing of Hamas-affiliated engineer in Malaysia". i24News. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 Levy, Elior (21 April 2018). "Palestinian electrical engineer shot dead in Malaysia". Ynet. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Fadi al-Batsh killing: Israel dismisses involvement". BBC News. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Gunmen shoot dead Palestinian lecturer in Malaysia". Reuters. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 Boxerman, Aaron (22 January 2022). "Hamas claims to nab Palestinian who aided alleged 2018 Mossad hit in Malaysia". Times of Israel. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Malaysia releases photo of suspect in Palestinian's killing". Al Jazeera. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Israel dismisses suggestions it killed Palestinian in Malaysia". Reuters. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Family accuses Israel's Mossad of killing Palestinian in Malaysia". Yahoo!. AFP. 22 April 2018. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  10. ↑ ['https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/04/360428/palestinian-lecturer-killed-setapak-was-no-rocket-drone-maker-nsttv 'Palestinian lecturer killed in Setapak was no rocket, drone maker'], by N. H. Bahaudin, April 22, 2018
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