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George Habash




Sometimes called by his Nom De Guerre ''Al-Hakim'', الحكيم, meaning "the wise one" or "the doctor", Habash is the founder and former Secretary-General of the Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine .


EARLY YEARS

He was born in Lydda (today's Lod ) to Greek Orthodox parents. Habash was a medical student when he visited his family during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . In July 1948, the Israeli military conquered the town and expelled its 10,000 residents, who were marched in the heat to the Arab front lines in what the Arabs now call the Lydda Death March, which was later recognized by Israel as an act of excessive force. Benny Morris writes that Israeli witnesses agreed that the exodus was an extended episode of suffering for the refugees. He cites a death toll of 335 dead, while Arab Legion commander John Glubb Pasha wrote that "nobody will ever know how many children died."