In other news from the Occupied Territories, George Habash has died at the age of eighty-two. He was the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. To many of his supporters, he was known as the “the conscience of the Palestine revolution.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning.

Nabil Abu Rdainah, aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: “Without a doubt, the passing of the historical leader Dr. George Habash is a big loss for the Palestinian people. Dr. Habash was one of the leaders of the Palestinian revolution. He was one of the Palestinian people’s biggest heroes, and he was one of the people who began fighting, while still young, for the freedom and independence of the Palestinian people.”

The PFLP gained international notoriety when the group simultaneously hijacked four Western airliners in 1970. The aircraft were blown up in the Middle East after passengers and crews disembarked.