Ziyad Rushdi Al-Nakhalah Abu Tarek

The secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization. He was born in Gaza on April 6, 1953, and grew up in Khan Yunis. He holds a teaching certificate from the Teacher Training Center in Gaza. His family consists of six children – two sons and four daughters, whom he raises with his spouse. In 1971, he was arrested by Israel for his involvement in terrorist activities. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but after 14 years, he was released in the Jibril Deal in 1985. After his release, the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fathi Shaqaqi, tasked him with establishing the organization's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades. Due to his involvement in the First Intifada, he was arrested by Israel again in April 1988 and was deported to Lebanon, where he served as the organization’s representative. Over the years, he lived intermittently in Syria and Lebanon. In October 1995, following the assassination of Fathi Shaqaqi, Nakhaleh was selected as the deputy of Ramadan Shalah, the organization's secretary-general. In 2011, with the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, he relocated to Lebanon. In January 2014, the U.S. Department of State added Nakhaleh to its list of terrorists. The reason for his inclusion was the planting of an explosive device on a bus in Bat Yam on December 22, 2013, an operation claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as responsibility for rocket fire toward Israel in 2008, 2009, and 2011. He was part of the negotiations held by the Egyptians with Palestinian organizations to achieve a ceasefire in the military operations in Gaza. During Operation Protective Edge, his family home in Gaza was attacked, resulting in the deaths of his sister-in-law and her son. On September 28, 2018, he was elected secretary-general of the organization, about six months after his predecessor, Dr. Ramadan Shalah, ceased functioning following several strokes. In March 2023, he was re-elected for a second term as secretary-general.