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Bassel al-Araj

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Bassel al-Araj
Born1984
al-Walaja, Palestine
Died (aged 33)
NationalityPalestinian
Other names"The Educated Martyr"
OccupationPharmacist

Bassel al-Araj (Arabic: باسل الأعرج, 1984 — 2017) was a Palestinian activist, writer and author. Known for his writings about revolution and Arab nationalism,[1][2][3] al-Araj was killed on 6 March 2017 by a unit belonging to Israel’s Yamam police force, after a gunfight lasting nearly two hours broke out as they attempted to raid his home.[4] He is known as "the educated martyr" among some Palestinian activists.[5]

Biography

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Al-Araj was born in al-Walaja, a Palestinian village near Bethlehem.[6] He worked as a pharmacist and organized educational activities and lectures in which he narrated experiences of Palestinian resistance in tours of Palestinian landmarks.[7][8]

Along with five others, al-Araj was arrested by the Palestinian Authority in 2016 and charged with planning armed attacks against Israel.[9][6] During their imprisonment in the PA-administered prison, al-Araj and his companions claim that they were subject to torture and mistreatment, leading them to commence a hunger strike in demand of their freedom.[10] During their nine-day hunger strike, al-Araj published a single sentence via his lawyer,[11] "The da`i and the son of the da`i (one whose parents are unknown but someone claims him as his son) has required us to choose one of two: battle or humiliation. Far away we are from accepting humiliation"[12] (Arabic: ألا إن الدعيّ بن الدعيّ قد ركز بين اثنتين، بين السّلة والذلّة.. وهيهات منّا الذلّة), a saying attributed to Husayn ibn Ali. Popular support for the men swelled, and the Palestinian courts ordered their release on bail of 500 Jordanian dinars.[13][10]

After their release from prison, Israeli forces arrested several members of the group. al-Araj went into hiding for two months. Israeli forces tracked al-Araj and repeatedly served warrants authorizing them to search his family's home and properties.[10][6]

Death

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The IDF located him on March 6, 2017, and surrounded him in an apartment near the Qaddura refugee camp in al-Bireh.[4] He was engaged by the Israeli forces in a two-hour gunfight, during which the IDF fired an ENERGA anti-tank rifle grenade, resulting in the partial destruction of the building. Israeli forces stormed the building and killed al-Araj after his ammunition was depleted,[4] although Israeli reports state that al-Araj opened fire after IDF troops were already in the building.[14] Palestinian reports note that Israeli forces removed al-Araj's corpse from the building by dragging him by his feet.[15][16]

In a handwritten letter published posthumously, al-Araj appeared to predict his own death and placed it within the context of the struggle for Palestinian liberation.[17] al-Araj's family reacted to Bassel's death by condemning not only Israeli forces for killing him but also the Palestinian Authority for their collusion with the latter. al-Araj's brother, Saeed, called his brother a hero, further saying "I am eternally proud of him... he lived in honor." al-Araj's mother, Siham, condemned both the state of Israel and the Palestinian Authority for their treatment of Bassel, claiming “Israeli soldiers killed him, but the PA paved the way for them." Similarly, Bassel's sister Doha condemned the state's media for abandoning Bassel and his comrades, and called the PA "complicit in Bassel’s killing".[18]

In November 2018, Dar Rabal, a Palestinian publisher in Jerusalem, published the full works of al-Araj. The book's title, "I Have Found My Answers" (Arabic: وجدت أجوبتي), was taken from the last letter he wrote prior to his death.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Mariam Mecky, 'Well known Palestinian writer and activist Basil Al-Araj was killed by Israeli police special forces on a raid at his house.', ahramonline (26 March 2017).
  2. ^ Shuaibi, Zaid; Al-Araj, Bassel (Spring 2012). "Youth Mobility and the Palestinian 'Couch Party'". Institute for Palestine Studies. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  3. ^ De Baets, Antoon (2019). Crimes against history. Abingdo, Oxon. pp. 25, 158. ISBN 978-0-203-70117-1. OCLC 1050142318.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ a b c Basil al-Araj assassinated by Israeli forces after PA imprisonment and months in hiding
  5. ^ Arabs mourn ‘hipster terrorist’ killed in shootout
  6. ^ a b c "عامان على استشهاد باسل الأعرج.. المثقف المشتبك الذي وجد أجوبته". الجزيرة مباشر (in Arabic). 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  7. ^ "باسل الأعرج .. المثقف الذي عجز الاحتلال عن اعتقاله (فيديو)" [Bassel al-Araj, the intellectual whom the occupation was unable to arrest (video)] (in Arabic). 4 January 2017.
  8. ^ Global raciality : empire, postcoloniality, decoloniality. P. Bacchetta, Sunaina Maira, Howard Winant (First ed.). New York. 2019. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-429-40220-3. OCLC 1057731854.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. ^ "Basil al-Araj: Police break up protest over court case". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  10. ^ a b c Tahhan, Zena (2017-03-07). "'Basil al-Araj was a beacon for Palestinian youth'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  11. ^ "بالصور| باسل الأعرج.. "الشهيد المطارد"". 6 March 2017.
  12. ^ Al-Husain: Lessons of a Lifetime English translation
  13. ^ Muhammad Obeidat (2016-09-08). "قرار بالإفراج عن الشبان الفلسطينيين الستة من سجون السلطة". Al Araby Al Jadeed (in Arabic).
  14. ^ PALESTINIAN SUSPECTED OF PLANNING ATTACKS ON ISRAEL KILLED IN GUNFIGHT WITH IDF, Jerusalem Post
  15. ^ Palestinian activist 'executed' by Israeli forces after 2-hour shoot-out, Maan news
  16. ^ "رام الله: استشهاد باسل الأعرج بنيران قوات الاحتلال". 6 March 2017.
  17. ^ In final letter, slain Palestinian activist Basel al-Araj ponders looming death, Maan news
  18. ^ Never obey the occupation: the legacy of Bassel al-Araj
  19. ^ "أعمال الشهيد المقدسي باسل الأعرج في كتاب". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
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