Nidal Fat'hi Rabah Farahat
Encyclopedia
'Nidal Fat’hi Rabah Farahat' (April 8, 1971 - February 16, 2003) created the Qassam rocket
, a homemade weapon produced by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
.
Farahat is a Muslim whose parents are Christian (which is why they named him Nidal, a secular, irreligious Arabic term) attended the Shuja'iyya
neighborhood mosque in Gaza City. During the First Intifada
he took part in Hamas
operations.
After the Intifada Farahat was arrested following the death of senior Hamas militant Imad Aqel, who was married to one of his sisters, killed while hiding in his house. After spending three years in Israeli detention, he returned to Gaza.
At the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada
, in 2000, Farahat officially joined the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and soon became an active member in the organization, planning and carrying out numerous terrorist operations including mortar attacks on Jewish settlements in the Gaza strip
. In 2001, Farahat, after several months of work, produced the first prototype for the Qassam rocket and presented it to Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades leaders Salah Shahade
and Adnan al-Ghoul
. Together with al-Ghoul, Farahat then worked on developing a better version of the Qassam, the "Qassam 2". Hamas militants used the Qassam 2 extensively after 2002 to attack nearby Israeli settlements and towns. Up to the beginning of 2005, the Qassam rockets were responsible for the death of 6 Israelis, all but one in the Israeli town of Sderot
near the Gaza Strip
, from which several hundreds of rockets were fired over a period of three years.
Farahat also worked as a bombmaker, supplying Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades militants with explosive devices and homemade rocket launchers like the Al-Bana
and the Batar
. He also worked, under the direction of Salama Hamad, on the conception of a drone that could fly over settlements and bomb them. On February 16, 2003, Farahat was working along with other militants around newly acquired parts of the drone when one of them, booby-trapped, exploded. The device killed Farahat and 5 other militants.
The youngest brother of Nidal Farahat, Mohammed, died on March 7, 2002, when he attacked a military academy in the Israeli settlement of Azmona, killing 5 young settlers. Farwad Farahat, another of his brothers, was killed in an IDF aistrike on his car south of Gaza City on his way to launch rockets at Israel in 2005. His three other brothers are alive, with one in prison since 1992 and the two others, Wessam Farahat and Momen Farahat still living in the Gaza Strip where they assume high-ranking functions in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The latter sustained serious injuries to a hand while fighting against Israeli soldiers during an incursion in Gaza City in 2003. Finally, Nidal's mother, Maryam Farahat
, nicknamed Um Nidal, was elected in the Palestinian parliament dominated by Hamas following the January 26, 2006 Palestinian legislative election
.
Qassam rocket
The Qassam rocket is a simple steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. Three models have been produced and used between 2001 and 2011....
, a homemade weapon produced by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of...
.
Farahat is a Muslim whose parents are Christian (which is why they named him Nidal, a secular, irreligious Arabic term) attended the Shuja'iyya
Shuja'iyya
Shuja'iyya is a district of the Palestinian city of Gaza east of the city center, situated on a hill, located across the main Salah ad-Din Road that runs north-south throughout the Gaza Strip. It boasts Gaza's largest market which specializes mostly in clothes and household goods. Midan Shuja'iyya...
neighborhood mosque in Gaza City. During the First Intifada
First Intifada
The First Intifada was a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The uprising began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem....
he took part in Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
operations.
After the Intifada Farahat was arrested following the death of senior Hamas militant Imad Aqel, who was married to one of his sisters, killed while hiding in his house. After spending three years in Israeli detention, he returned to Gaza.
At the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
, in 2000, Farahat officially joined the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and soon became an active member in the organization, planning and carrying out numerous terrorist operations including mortar attacks on Jewish settlements in the Gaza strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. In 2001, Farahat, after several months of work, produced the first prototype for the Qassam rocket and presented it to Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades leaders Salah Shahade
Salah Shahade
Salah Mustafa Muhammad Shehade , was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas...
and Adnan al-Ghoul
Adnan al-Ghoul
Adnan Al-Ghoul was the assistant of Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He was eliminated in a targeted killing along with Imad Abbas when an Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter fired missiles at their car in Gaza on October 21, 2004...
. Together with al-Ghoul, Farahat then worked on developing a better version of the Qassam, the "Qassam 2". Hamas militants used the Qassam 2 extensively after 2002 to attack nearby Israeli settlements and towns. Up to the beginning of 2005, the Qassam rockets were responsible for the death of 6 Israelis, all but one in the Israeli town of Sderot
Sderot
Sderot is a western Negev city in the Southern District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 20,700. The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip...
near the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
, from which several hundreds of rockets were fired over a period of three years.
Farahat also worked as a bombmaker, supplying Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades militants with explosive devices and homemade rocket launchers like the Al-Bana
Al-Bana
The al-Bana rocket launcher is a weapon developed by Hamas's Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul and Mohammed Deif. Made from raw material and equipment smuggled into the Gaza Strip using tunnels in Rafah, the al-Bana was the first example, during the Al-Aqsa...
and the Batar
Batar
The Batar rocket launcher is a weapon developed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian militant group Hamas during the Al-Aqsa intifada. The weapon was reportedly created and produced in clandestine workshops in the Gaza strip under the direction of Adnan al-Ghoul...
. He also worked, under the direction of Salama Hamad, on the conception of a drone that could fly over settlements and bomb them. On February 16, 2003, Farahat was working along with other militants around newly acquired parts of the drone when one of them, booby-trapped, exploded. The device killed Farahat and 5 other militants.
The youngest brother of Nidal Farahat, Mohammed, died on March 7, 2002, when he attacked a military academy in the Israeli settlement of Azmona, killing 5 young settlers. Farwad Farahat, another of his brothers, was killed in an IDF aistrike on his car south of Gaza City on his way to launch rockets at Israel in 2005. His three other brothers are alive, with one in prison since 1992 and the two others, Wessam Farahat and Momen Farahat still living in the Gaza Strip where they assume high-ranking functions in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The latter sustained serious injuries to a hand while fighting against Israeli soldiers during an incursion in Gaza City in 2003. Finally, Nidal's mother, Maryam Farahat
Umm Nidal
Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat , popularly known as Umm Nidal, "the mother of Nidal", is one of Hamas' candidates elected in the Palestinian legislative election, 2006...
, nicknamed Um Nidal, was elected in the Palestinian parliament dominated by Hamas following the January 26, 2006 Palestinian legislative election
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council , the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority . Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent...
.