Kamal Nasir

Kamal Nasir

Kamal Nasir (Kamal Butros Nasir) Palestinian poet and PLO leader. Born Gaza, 1925, tho family is from Bir Zayt. Educated at American Univirsity of Beruit, worked as a

teacher whilst studying law in Jerusalem. After 1948 worked as a journalist produced al-Ba‘th newspaper from Ramallah, then set up al-Jil al-Jadid, a literary periodical. Elected as Ba‘th member for Ramallah district in 1956 elections, but expelled from Parliament during the subsequent martial law period. Expelled from West Bank by Israel in 1967, became editor of PLO newspaper, Filastin al-Thawra, and member of PLO - Executive Committee from Feb. 1969 where served as official spokesman and the head of National Guidance.

He was murder in Israel’s Beirut raid of Apr. 1973. Only published one collection of poetry, Jirah Tughanni (1961), though others collected from his writings after his death.