Muhammad Dahlan

1961 -

Palestinian activist and security official in the Palestinian Authority.

Born in Khan Yunis refugee camp in Gaza, Muhammad Dahlan later headed Shabiba, the youth movement of al-Fatah, in the West Bank during the 1980s. He was imprisoned by Israel on numerous occasions between 1981 and 1986, was active in the first Intifada, and was eventually deported in 1988. In exile in Tunis, Dahlan helped the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) coordinate the Intifada.

Upon the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 1994, Dahlan returned from exile and headed the Gaza branch of the Preventative Security Forces. A frequent participant in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during the 1990s, he became one of the most powerful figures in the PA. With the breakdown of the peace process, he ran into political difficulties. His crackdown on groups such as HAMAS that were opposed to the peace process, and his good working relationship with Israel and the United States, angered some Palestinians. His call for PA political reform angered Arafat. Dahlan resigned in June 2002 but was appointed minister of state for security affairs in the spring of 2003 by PA prime minister Mahmud Abbas. During the power struggle between Abbas and Arafat in the summer of 2003, Dahlan found himself pitted against Jibril Rajub, former West Bank head of the Preventative Security Forces, whom Arafat had appointed his national security adviser.

— MICHAEL R. FISCHBACH