Ziyad al-Nakhalah
Ziyad al-Nakhalah is the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He is based in Damascus, Syria.Biography
Born in 1953 in Khan Yunis, Gaza, Al-Nakhala was detained by Israel a number of times since 1971. In 1971, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel because of his militant activities with the Arab Liberation Front. He was one of the 1,500 security prisoners released by Israel on 21 May 1985 in a prisoner swap under the Jibril Agreement.
Upon his release from Israeli prison, then-PIJ secretary-general Fathi Shikaki tasked Nakhalah with establishing the group’s military wing in the Gaza Strip. Al-Nakhalah was detained again by Israel in April 1988 for his role in the first Intifada, and was exiled to Lebanon in August 1988 with other PIJ leaders.
Al-Nakhala became deputy secretary general of PIJ in 1995.
On 23 January 2014, al-Nakhalah was designated a Specially Designated Terrorist by the United States, resulting in his property and interests in the United States being frozen. The US also offered a $5-million reward for information leading to his capture.
Al-Nakhalah was elected secretary general of PIJ on 28 September 2018, succeeding Ramadan Shalah, who suffered a series of strokes in April 2018.
