Dr. George Habash, the founder of a famous Palestinian organization, died in Jordan on Saturday, Palestinian officials said. He was 83.
Habash founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1968. A refugee from the 1948 creation of Israel, he lived in exile and succumbed to a heart condition in a hospital in Amman, the officials said, according to Reuters. Habash had been living in Amman since 1992.
Following the news, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's office declared a 3-day mourning period for Habash.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the PFLP carried out airline hijackings and kidnappings to highlight the Palestinian struggle. In September 1970, the PFLP hijacked and destroyed three Western airliners simultaneously.
Habash, who came from a wealthy Christian family, first achieved political prominence at the head of the Arab Nationalist Movement in 1952 and became a life-long opponent of peace talks with Israel. He stepped down as PFLP general-secretary in 2000, handing over to Abu Ali Mustafa, who was killed by Israel in 2001 during a Palestinian uprising.
