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Abdel Razak al-Yehiyeh

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Abdel-Razak al-Yehiyeh
Interior Minister of the Palestinian National Authority
In office
June 2007 – May 2009
PresidentMahmoud Abbas
Prime MinisterSalam Fayyad
Preceded byHani Talab al-Qawasmi
Succeeded bySaid Abu Ali
In office
June 15, 2002 – Late 2002
Preceded byHani al-Hassan
Succeeded byNasser Yousef
Personal details
Born15 March 1929
Tantura, British Mandate of Palestine
Died9 March 2020 (aged 90)
Children4 daughters and 1 son from his first marriage; 1 daughter and 1 son from his second marriage
OccupationPolitician, Military strategist, Author

Abdel-Razak al-Yehiyeh or Abdul-Razzaq Al-Yahya (March 15, 1929 – March 9, 2020)[1] born in Tantura, near Haifa, then in the British Mandate of Palestine,[2] also known as Abu Anas, was a Palestinian politician who served as Interior Minister of the Palestinian National Authority.

Al-Yehiyeh trained as a military strategist and served as chief operations officer and then deputy chief-of-staff of the PLA brigade in Syria before 1967.[2] In August 1968, he led an attempt to make PLA Syria brigades more independent of Syrian control, and was made PLA chief-of-staff by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee. But with Syria opposed, he resigned to become military advisor to the PLO Executive Committee from 1969[3] and chief-of-staff of the Palestinian Armed Struggle Command (PASC) in February 1969.[citation needed]

He was reappointed to the PLA as commander-in-chief by the PLO Executive Committee in June 1969.[2] Then when Yasser Arafat took on that role in September 1970, al-Yehiyeh became chief-of-staff of all Palestinian forces.[2]

Due to Syrian pressure, he was replaced in 1971, becoming director of the PLO's political department from 1971 to 1976,[2] He was a member of the PLO Executive Committee from 1984 to 1991.[1] Al-Yehiyeh headed security committees in talks with Israel from 1993 to 1995,[4] including final status talks, and also headed negotiations on Hebron security arrangements and safe passage.[2]

He was appointed as Interior Minister of the Palestinian Authority in June 2002, charged with overhauling Palestinian security forces.[1][2][4] He was a member of the three-man delegation to Washington in August 2000.[citation needed] He was involved in security talks with Israel, and headed a centralized security apparatus for the Palestinian Authority.

Al-Yehiyeh left the PA cabinet in late 2002, feeling that Arafat had prevented him from making any significant reforms. He published his book Between militarism and politics in 2006,[5] and he was working on publishing a new book about peace negotiations between the Palestinian National Authority PNA and Israel.[citation needed]

He was appointed Interior Minister on June 15, 2007.[citation needed]

Private life

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From his first marriage, he had 4 daughters: Jomana, Lina, Roula and Rejwan. After the death of his first wife, he remarried and had a daughter Rana, and a son, Anas.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "وفاة عبد الرزاق اليحيى وزير الداخلية الفلسطينية الأسبق". دنيا الوطن (in Arabic). 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Al-YAHYA, ABDUL RAZEQ (1929-)". The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA). Archived from the original on 13 April 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  3. ^ "LUNCHEON FORUM WITH GENERAL ABDEL RAZAK AL-YAHYA INTERIOR MINISTER OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution Saban Center for Middle East Policy. 8 August 2002. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b "New Palestinian interior minister a retired military man". CNN. 10 June 2002. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  5. ^ Al-Yahya, Abdul Razzaq (2006). عبد الرزاق اليحيى : بين العسكرية و السياسة : ذكريات [Abdul Razzaq Al-Yahya Between Militarism and Politics (Memories)] (in Arabic). Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine: Palestinian Refugee and Diaspora Center (SHAML). ISBN 9789950315068.
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