Jan 26 (Reuters) - George Habash, the founder of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), died in Jordan on Saturday, the Palestinian government said. He was 80. Following are some facts about Habash: * He was born on April 22, 1927 in the town of Lydda in what was then British-ruled Palestine and is now part of Israel. The town is known in Israel as Lod. * He was in medical school at the American University of Beirut when fighting broke out over the creation of Israel in 1948, transforming his wealthy Christian family and hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians into refugees. * He founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1968. He opposed peace deals with Israel and firmly believed there could be no peace in the Middle East unless Israel is destroyed. * Habash was a Marxist guerrilla leader who was called a terrorist by Israel and hailed by Palestinians as a patriot. * He stepped down as leader of the group in 2000, handing over to Abu Ali Mustafa, who was killed by Israel in 2001 during a Palestinian uprising. * 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, leading Jordan's King Hussein to crack down on the guerrillas. * Habash -- often called The Doctor out of respect -- and other leaders of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), then moved to Beirut where he lived until Israel's 1982 invasion to root out the Palestinians. He then moved to Syria. For the main story click here [nL2633580]
A Palestinian urges a donkey to climb over the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt in town of Rafah January 26, 2008. Egyptian troops stood by and let thousands of Palestinians ...
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