Bassam Salhi
Born in Al-Am’ari Refugee Camp in 1960 to family originally from Lydda; in the mid-1970s student activist and involved in voluntary work; elected chairman of the Student Council of Birzeit University (1979-1981) and student movement representative for the National Guidance Committee;
Arrested by Israel and put under house arrest several times; named to lead the Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) (previously Palestinian Communist Party) underground movement in the Gaza Strip, where he lived in several secret safe-houses; after the closure forced on Gaza Strip in March, 1988, he secretly found his way back to the West Bank;
Worked with the Unified National Leadership of the (first) Intifada until he was imprisoned in 1990-93; among the leaders of the 12 day prisoners’ hunger strike in 1992; MA in International Studies, Birzeit University;
Worked in the field of education in the 1990s; elected PPP Sec. Gen. in 2003; member of the Palestinian delegation against Israel's separation wall to the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 2004; participated in different local and international events aiming to gain support for the Palestinian Question; founded together with other factions and institutions the Palestinian Campaign for Freedom and Peace (2004); which aimed to intensify international support for the Palestinian people by inviting international delegations to visit and advocate for Palestine, as well as sustaining the Intifada as a popular struggle;
PNC member; holds observer status at the PLO Central Council; nominated himself in 2004 following the death of Yasser Arafat as a running candidate for the position of PA President for the 2005 elections; lives in Al-Bireh-Ramallah. |
