Mohammad Dahlan
Personal details
Born
Mohammad Yusuf Dahlan

(1961-09-29) 29 September 1961
Khan Yunis Camp, Gaza Strip
CitizenshipMontenegro (2012–present)
Serbia (2013–present)
Political partyFatah
Alma materIslamic University of Gaza
WebsiteOfficial website

Mohammad Yusuf Dahlan[1] (Arabic: محمد دحلان) born on 29 September 1961 in Khan Yunis Refugee Camp, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip also known by the kunya Abu Fadi (أبو فادي) is a Palestinian politician, the former leader of Fatah in Gaza. Dahlan was born to a refugee family from Hamama (a Palestinian town depopulated in 1948), 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.

Family

Dahlan married Jaleela (born in Saudi Arabia on 1 January 1966). They have four children: Fadi (born Tunis, 5 October 1990); Firaz (born Tunis, 8 August 1992); Hadil (born Gaza, 19 October 1995); and Asil (born Gaza, 25 September 2003). All six gained Serbian citizenship together on 6 December 2013.[2] Dahlan Also holds Montenegrin citizenship since 2012.[3][4] Dahlan lives in exile in Abu Dhabi, where he "works closely" with the ruling Al Nahyan family.[5] He is also aligned with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.[6]

Oslo years

Dahlan became involved in negotiating the Oslo Peace Agreement.[7] Dahlan was chosen to head the Preventive Security Force in Gaza after the signing of the Oslo Accords. He built up a force of 20,000 men,[8] making him one of the most powerful Palestinian leaders, dealing regularly with the CIA and Israeli intelligence officials.[9] His forces were accused of torturing Hamas detainees throughout the 1990s, allegations Dahlan denies.[10][11] During this period Gaza was nicknamed "Dahlanistan" due to his power.[12] 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.[13][14]

Second Intifada

In 2001 he upset Yasser Arafat by beginning to call for reform in the Palestinian National Authority and expressing dissatisfaction with a lack of coherent policy.[15][16]

In 2002, he resigned his post as head of the Preventive Security in Gaza in the hope of becoming Interior Minister; this did not occur, and 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.[17] By September he had been ousted when Abbas resigned as Prime Minister, and was replaced by Hakam Balawi.[18]

He repeatedly tried to campaign on a reform and anti-corruption ticket and tried to profile himself as an outspoken critic of 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.[19][20]

In 2004, Dahlan was assumed to have been behind week-long unrest in Gaza following the appointment of Arafat's nephew Moussa Arafat as head of Gaza police forces.[21] 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.[22]

Gaza infighting

On January 26, 2006, Dahlan was narrowly elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in the Palestinian legislative election of 2006 as a representative for Khan Yunis. Dahlan took a tough stance against Hamas,[23] 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.[24]

On December 14, 2006 gunmen attempted to assassinate Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh 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.[25] Dahlan rejected the accusations, saying, "the Hamas government is fully responsible for yesterday's events."[26]

On January 7, 2007, Dahlan held the biggest-ever rally of Fatah supporters in the Gaza Strip,[27] 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.[28]

Dahlan was a Fatah representative in negotiations which resulted in the Fatah–Hamas 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.[29] 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.[30]

In the April 2008 edition of Vanity Fair it was revealed that after the 2006 elections Dahlan had been central in a US plot to remove the democratically elected Hamas-led government from power. The Americans provided money and arms to Dahlan, trained his men and ordered him to carry out a military coup against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, the elected Hamas government forestalled the move and itself carried out an armed counter-coup.[31][32]

Battle of Gaza

In July 2007, Dahlan resigned from his post as national security adviser.[33] 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.[34]

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.[35] Representatives of Dahlan pressured Mahmoud Abbas to fire and punish Al-Hassan, while masked gunmen opened fire on his home in Ramallah.[36] Al-Hassan accused Dahlan of planning to murder him, a charge which Dahlan denied.[37]

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.[38]

In August 2009 Dahlan was elected to the Central Committee of Fatah.[39] However the results were controversial, with Fatah suffering mass resignations over claims the elections were fraudulent.[40][41]

Allegation of murdering Yasser Arafat

In June 2011 Dahlan was expelled from Fatah because of repeated claims by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas that he had murdered Arafat.[42] In September, his house was raided by the Palestinian police and his private armed guards were arrested. In August 2011 his former party accused him of murdering Arafat using poison.[43] In June 2012, after a 9-month investigation launched by Al Jazeera, traces of the radioactive poison polonium were found on Arafat's belongings, strongly increasing suspicions that he was poisoned.

Al-Mabhouh assassination

Hamas has claimed that two Palestinians arrested in Dubai for suspected involvement in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 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.[44] 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 assassination, renting them cars and hotel rooms.[45] Dahlan denied the charges."[46]

Trial in absentia

In December 2014, a trial against Dahlan on corruption charges began in Ramallah. Since he failed to appear for the trial, it was decided to try him in absentia.[47] He was convicted for defaming president Abbas and sentenced him to two years in prison, and a year later convicted of embezzlement which added three years to his sentence.[7]

Influence in United Arab Emirates

Following his expulsion from Fatah in 2011, Dahlan moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he worked as a security adviser. Dahlan developed a close relationship with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who became the de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi in 2014 and President of the United Arab Emirates in 2022.[7][48]

Dahlan assisted in organising some large UAE investments in the Balkans, and acquired Serbian citizenship.[49]

In 2016, Turkey placed Dahlan on its the "most wanted terrorist list", offering a $700,000 bounty, accusing him of involvement in the 2016 failed Turkish coup attempt.[48][50]

In October 2018, Dahlan was accused of cooperating with Abraham Golan, a Hungarian-Israeli veteran of the French Foreign Legion, to hire American ex-special forces mercenaries to assassinate Yemeni al-Islah politicians as part of the United Arab Emirate's role in the Yemeni Civil War.[51]

Foreign Policy reported that Dahlan was influential in developing the Abraham Accords, the U.S. brokered agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020.[7] In 2020, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said in an interview that the U.S. considers Dahlan as a future replacement for Palestinian President Abbas.[52]

Dahlan led one of the candidate lists, The Future, for the planned 2021 Palestinian general election, though he himself did not stand in the election.[50][53] However President Abbas indefinitely postponed this election a month before the planned date.[54]

In March 2023, Dahlan argued that Israel had destroyed the option of a two-state solution, and Palestenians should now work toward a one-state solution for two peoples with equal rights. He said in an interview "We, as Palestinians, must realise that the two-state solution has completely ended, and is no longer feasible on the ground because of the Israeli inflexibility and due to the measures that Israel has taken over the past 30 years."[55]

Three weeks into the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, he gave an interview to the Economist. He suggested that after the war a two-year transitional technocratic government should be created for Gaza and the West Bank jointly. After that, elections with all Palestinian political factions standing, including Hamas, should take place for a parliamentary system of government, without a President. This Palestinian state should be internationally recognised.[56]

Criticism

Other Palestinians have criticized Dahlan. Jibril Rajoub, with whom he cultivated a deep and personal rivalry, claimed in 2003 that everybody knew Dahlan was an Israeli agent.[57] He has also been criticized for his good relationship with Arafat's long-time financial adviser Mohammad Rashid and Dahlan's own London-based business.[58] Dahlan is alleged to have enriched himself through corruption; his personal wealth has been estimated at well over $120 million.[59][60]

Others claim that, for the sake of deterring political rivals and counterweighting the numerous armed militias, he maintained a private army in the Gaza Strip in 2003 and 2004, which was trained and equipped by American services, with Israel intending to force a conflict between Dahlan's forces and Hamas.[61]

Dahlan has also faced criticism regarding his role in Gaza turmoil, especially in exchanging hostilities with rival security forces commander Ghazi al-Jabali. In 2003, Preventive Security Force gunmen raided the offices of Jabali's General Security organization, going so far as to jam his head into his office toilet.[62]

Dahlan was accused of initiating a smear campaign against PA Civilian Affairs Minister Hussein Sheikh in September 2012, when the latter was alleged to have been involved in a sex scandal with a female employee in his department.[63]

Dahlan was the target of a bounty offered by the Turkish government in January 2020, offering 4 million lira (US$700,000) for information leading to his capture. The Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Dahlan of being an agent of Israeli intelligence and a financial backer of the Gülen movement.[64]

Acting Prime Minister of PNA, Nabil Shaath, alleged that Dahlan "played a crucial role in shaping the deal” of the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement, which was denounced by the Palestinian National Authority. Shaath accused him of "neglecting the interests of his homeland".[65] Dahlan was also branded as a “traitor” in the street protests of West Bank and Gaza Strip, where demonstrators trampled and torched the portraits of Donald Trump, Mohammed bin Zayed, Benjamin Netanyahu and Dahlan.[65]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Palestinian Security Ace: Mohammad Yusuf Dahlan". CNN. April 24, 2003.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2015-01-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "The UAE's shadowy dealings in Serbia". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Vesti online / Srpski informativni portal / Ubici Arafata pasoš od Mila". Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Egypt's surprising friendship with Hamas". The Economist. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "A rival to the Palestinian president is sentenced in absentia". The Economist. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Ferziger, Jonathan H. (30 October 2020). "The UAE's Invisible Palestinian Hand". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  8. ↑ John Pike (1961-09-29). "Mohammad Dahlan". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
  9. ↑ Gilmore, Inigo; Jacobson, Philip (16 December 2001). "Five killed as Israeli tanks go deep into Gaza". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  10. ↑ McGirk, Tim (7 February 2009). "Rift Between Hamas and Fatah Grows After Gaza". Archived from the original on February 9, 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2017 – via www.time.com.
  11. ↑ Sadiki, Larbi. "The elephant in the room". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  12. ↑ Said, Edward (19 June 2003). "A Road Map to Where?". London Review of Books. 25 (12): 3–5. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  13. ↑ "The Murder of Musa Arafat and the Battle for the Spoils of Gaza". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 10 October 2005. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  14. ↑ بقلم : د. إبراهيم حمامي (in Arabic). arabmail.de. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "European Institute for Research on Mediterranean and Euro-Arab Cooperation". Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ↑ "Suicide Bomber Strikes Israel Again". CNN. 27 May 2002. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  17. ↑ Haaretz Archived 2005-03-16 at the Wayback Machine Arafat trying to undermine Dahlan's security powers By Arnon Regular 10 July 2003
  18. ↑ Raffi Berg (23 April 2003). "Profile: Mohammad Dahlan". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  19. ↑ al Ahram Archived 2009-03-13 at the Wayback Machine All for reform The call for Palestinian reform is all well and good, but how deep run the roots of corruption, asks Lamis Andoni Issue No. 701 29 July – 4 August 2004
  20. ↑ Conrad Urquhart (1 August 2004). "Arafat 'ruining his people' says protege". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  21. ↑ Khaled Abu Toameh (18 July 2004). "Dahlan likely behind unrest 18 July 2004". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "Gaza powerbroker threatens mass protest". The Age. Reuters and Associated Press. 3 August 2004. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  23. ↑ Ken Ellingwood (21 January 2007). "Lawmaker's tough talk rouses Fatah faithful". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "Dahlan vows to decimate Hamas". Al-Ahram Weekly. 14 June 2006. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  25. ↑ "Hamas accuses rival of PM attack". BBC News. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "Hamas and Fatah clash as tensions escalate", New York Times, 15 December 2006.
  27. ↑ Haaretz Archived 2010-02-17 at the Wayback Machine "Dahlan to Haaretz: We proved to Hamas that Gaza is not theirs." By Avi Issacharoff, 10 January 2007
  28. ↑ "Gaza chief brands Hamas murderers". BBC News. 10 January 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  29. ↑ "Hamas slams Abbas' decision to appoint Dahlan as security chief" Archived 2009-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, Haaretz, 3/19/07.
  30. ↑ Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel (7 June 2007). "Fatah to Israel: Let us get arms to fight Hamas". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  31. ↑ "The Gaza Bombshell", by David Rose, April 2008, Vanity Fair
  32. ↑ ""Kill A Hundred Turks And Rest…" – Gush Shalom – Israeli Peace Bloc". Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  33. ↑ Avi Issacharoff (26 July 2007). "Mohammad Dahlan resigns following Fatah's Gaza defeat". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  34. ↑ Kershner, Isabel (26 July 2007). "Defeated Fatah Leader Resigns Official Post". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  35. ↑ "» 49217– IMEMC News". 4 August 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  36. ↑ Ali Waked (June 28, 2007). "Abbas advisor says Hamas fighting collaborators". Ynet. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  37. ↑ "The war within Fatah". Al-Ahram Weekly. 11 July 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  38. ↑ "Abbas resists US pressure to name Dahlan his deputy 22 October 2007, Khaled Abu Toameh". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  39. ↑ Mohammad Yaghi (15 August 2009). "Fatah Congress: A Victory for Abbas". lebanonwire.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  40. ↑ "Fatah in turmoil after 'rigged poll'". Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  41. ↑ Khaled Abu Toameh (3 September 2009). "Former Abbas ally calls him 'a third world tyrant'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  42. ↑ "Mohammad Dahlan and the Succession Battle for the PA Chairmanship". Yoni Ben Menachem, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). 21 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  43. ↑ "Fatah: Ex-Gaza strongman Mohammad Dahlan poisoned Arafat". Haaretz. Associated Press. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  44. ↑ "Dubai police say that Hamas murdered al-Mabhouh". Jewish Chronicle. February 25, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  45. ↑ "Hamas: Palestinians linked to Dubai hit employed by Fatah strongman Dahlan". Haaretz. Associated Press. February 19, 2010. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  46. ↑ "Hamas official: PA deeply involved in Mabhouh hit". Ynet. February 18, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
  47. ↑ "Gazans rally for Dahlan as W. Bank trial opens". The Daily Star. 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  48. 1 2 Cafiero, Giorgio (27 October 2020). "Why the UAE supports Mohammed Dahlan". TRT World. İstanbul. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  49. ↑ "A rival to the Palestinian president is sentenced in absentia". The Economist. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  50. 1 2 Teller, Neville (12 April 2021). "Dahlan plays the long game - opinion". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  51. ↑ "A Middle East Monarchy Hired American Ex-Soldiers To Kill Its Political Enemies. This Could Be The Future Of War". Buzzfeed News. October 16, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  52. ↑ El-Komi, Ahmed (23 September 2020). "Is Dahlan really being lined up by the US to replace Abbas?". Middle East Nonitor. London. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  53. ↑ "Mapping Palestinian Politics". European Council on Foreign Relations. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  54. ↑ Farrell, Stephen; Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Sawafta, Ali; Ayyub, Rami (30 April 2021). "Palestinian leader delays parliamentary and presidential elections, blaming Israel". Reuters. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  55. ↑ "Dahlan: I will not run in the Palestinian elections". Middle East Nonitor. London. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  56. ↑ Dahlan, Muhammad (30 October 2023). "A vision for the Palestinians after the war". The Economist. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  57. ↑ New York Times Once Neighbors, Now Rival Palestinian Leaders By James Bennet 29 April 2003
  58. ↑ John Kifner (May 21, 2002). "As Arafat Critics Close In, Deputies Vie in the Wings". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  59. ↑ Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs Archived 27 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine 10 October 2005
  60. ↑ Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs Archived 2012-04-01 at the Wayback Machine Can the Palestinian Authority's Fatah Forces Retake Gaza? Obstacles and Opportunities by Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh
  61. ↑ Chris McGreal (20 June 2003). "The real obstacle to peace is not terror, but sabotage by Sharon-backed army". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  62. ↑ "The Palestinian Battle for Succession". JCPA Middle East Briefing. 3 March 2004. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  63. ↑ "Sex scandal hits PA on eve of statehood bid" The Jerusalem Post, 27 September 2012
  64. ↑ "Gülen, Israel ties behind Ankara's bounty for exiled Palestinian leader Dahlan". Ahval. Haaretz. 8 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  65. 1 2 "Mohammed Dahlan, un Palestinien dans l'ombre de l'accord Israël-Émirats". Le Figaro. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

Sources

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