Ammon News - Bethlehem – Sakher Habash, a co-founder of the Fatah movement and former member of its Central Committee, died in Ramallah on Sunday. He was 70.

Born in 1939 in Bait Dajan, near Jaffa, Habash became a refugee during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, ending up first in Ramallah, then Balata refugee camp near Nablus.

He studied geology and water resources at Cairo's Ain Shams University beginning in 1958.

Habash became active in the Palestinian national movement during the early 1960s, and co-founded Fatah in 1962, becoming responsible for recruitment. He was appointed regional commander in Lebanon in October 1972. He was selected as a member of Fatah's Central Committee in 1989.

A prolific writer and poet, Habash served as the movement's general deputy of intellectual affairs.

* Ma’an