Rawhi Fattuh(Arabic:روحي فتوح,Rawḥī Fatūḥ,also transliterated asRauhi Fattouh;born 23 August 1949) is the formerSpeaker of the Palestinian Legislative Counciland was the interim President of thePalestinian Authority,following the death ofYasser Arafaton 11 November 2004 until 15 January 2005. Under Palestinian law, he was to hold the post for sixty days until an election was held.[1]Theelectionswere held and won byMahmoud Abbas,who was sworn in on 15 January 2005.[2]He was elected to theCentral Committee of Fatahin December 2016.[3]
Rawhi Fattuh | |
|---|---|
روحي فتوح | |
| InterimPresident of the Palestinian National Authority | |
| In office 11 November 2004 – 15 January 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Yasser Arafat |
| Succeeded by | Mahmoud Abbas |
| 3rdSpeaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council | |
| In office 10 March 2004 – 16 February 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Rafiq Al-Natsheh |
| Succeeded by | Aziz Dweik |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 August 1949 Rafah,All-Palestine Protectorate,Kingdom of Egypt |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Political party | Fatah |
Biography
editFattuh was elected in 1996 as a representative to thePalestinian Legislative Councilof the town ofRafah(in theGaza Strip), where he was born and has lived for most of his life. He served as secretary to the PLC until October 2003, when he became the minister of agriculture in the government ofPrime MinisterAhmed Qureia.
In July 2004, Fatah nominated Fattuh as its candidate forSpeaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council,[4]with 34 Fatah delegates voting in favour and 10 against.
In November 2004, Fattuh supported Ahmed Qurei, his predecessor as speaker and former prime minister, to succeed Arafat as president.
Fattuh was sworn in as interimPresident of the Palestinian National Authorityon 11 November 2004 after the death of Arafat. After taking the oath, Fattuh praised Arafat as a martyr of the Palestinian people and promised to faithfully follow Arafat's policies.[5]
Fattuh did not run in the2006 legislative electionand is no longer a member of the PLC.[2]
In 2022, Fattouh chaired the 18-member Fatah-dominatedPLO Executive Committee.Fattouh, a member of the PNC's founding generation, was considered by analysts to be dull and lacking any political influence to actually rule.[6]
Israel revoked the entry permits to Israel for Fattouh and two other senior Palestinian officials in January 2023 after they visitedKarim Younis,who was freed from prison after being convicted of murdering an Israeli soldier in 1980.[7]
Views
editAt an event in Algeria in 2023, Fattuh claimed that Arabs had inhabited Jerusalem for over 1.5 million years, while Jews had only been in the Middle East for 6,000 years. The oldest human fossils found date to around 300,000 years ago, 1.2 million years later than Fattouh's claim.[8]
References
edit
- ^"PNA interim chairman calls for elections preparations".Xinhua News Agency.13 November 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 23 October 2015.
- ^abBio entry appears in thePASSIA(Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs) website, listed as FATTOUH, RAWHI Ahmed Mohammed (1949-) under "Personalities" at"PASSIA: Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs - JerusalemPASSIA: Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs".Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 1998.Retrieved12 April2011.PASSIA's entry is referenced by other online biographical sources.
- ^"Fatah Congress elects Central Committee and Revolutionary Council members".WAFA.5 December 2016.Retrieved18 June2024.
- ^The Europa World Year Book 2007.Routledge. 2007.ISBN9781857434149– via Google Books.
- ^"Fattouh Sworn in as Interim Palestinian President".Voice of America.11 November 2004.Retrieved31 January2024.
- ^Khoury, Jack (19 December 2022)."It's Not the End of Abbas' Reign That Worries Palestinians. It's What Comes Next".Haaretz.Archived fromthe originalon 19 December 2022.Retrieved31 January2024.
- ^Fabian, Emanuel (7 January 2023)."Gallant revokes entry permits of 3 PA officials who visited freed terror convict".Times of Israel.Retrieved31 January2024.
- ^Mosheim, Tash (7 June 2023)."'Palestinians have been here for 1.5m years, Jews for 3000' claims senior Palestinian official ".Jewish Chronicle.Retrieved31 January2024.