Samiha Khalil

Samiha Khalil (1924-1999) was a prominent figure in Palestinian politics for four decades The term Palestine may refer to: Palestine: A geographical region in the Middle East, centered on Jerusalem. ...

Born in the village of Anabta in 1924, she dropped out of highschool at the age of seventeen to marry Salameh Khalil. After the 1948 War, the couple fled to Gaza where they raised a family of five children, and in 1964 Samiha finally returned to school and graduated; she was unable to pursue her desired degree at Beirut University however since Israel had forbidden her to leave the country at the time. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War, called the War of Independence (Hebrew: מלחמת העצמאות) by Israelis and al Nakba (Arabic: النكبة, the catastrophe) by Arabs, was the first in a series of wars in the Arab-Israeli conflict. ... The city of Gaza is the principal city in the Gaza Strip. ...

In 1965, Khalil came to the public eye when she founded the Al Inaash al-Usra society in her garage - it would grow to become the largest and most effective Palestinian welfare organization. 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

In 1977 she became the first and only female member of the National Front Committee 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ...

During the 1980s, Khalil was tied to the DFLP and detained six times by the IDF; she saw two of her children deported from Israel and the other three (who had been out of the country at the time) forbidden from re-entering. She was eventually placed under town-arrest in El-Bireh The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Al-Jabhah al-Dimuqratiyah Li-Tahrir Filastin) is a Marxist-Leninist organization, which was founded in 1969 when it split from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ההגנה לישראל Tsva Ha-Haganah Le-Yisrael ([Army] Force [for] the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces (army, air force and navy). ...

In 1996 she ran against Yassar Arafat for leadership of the Palestine Authority, though she lost the election with less than 20% of voters supporting her as president. 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (August 4 or August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), born Muhammad `Abd ar-Rauf al-Qudwa al-Husayni (Arabic محمد عبد الرؤوف القدوة الحسيني) and also known as Abu `Ammar (ابو عمّار), was co-founder and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (1969–2004... The West Bank The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the bulk of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which it calls the Palestinian Territories). It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. ...

A grandmother of 13, Khalil remained an active member in the political scene, serving on the Palestinian National Council up until her death in 1999 The Palestinian National Council (PNC) is the parliament in exile of the Palestinian people. ...