Tawfik Jaber
Encyclopedia
Tawfik Jaber was the chief of police in Gaza
, and was one of the most prominent figures among those killed on the first day of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
.
Jaber was originally affiliated with the secular Palestinian
political party, Fatah
, switching his loyalty to the Hamas
government in the Gaza Strip
in 2007.
Bill Dienst, an American doctor who met Jaber at a Gaza border crossing in the summer of 2008, when Dienst and other activists were denied passage into the strip, said that Jaber told him that he had not seen his wife for years: "He couldn't get out and she couldn't get in. It's a common story there."
Jaber was among 40 people killed at a police headquarters in Gaza City where Hamas was hosting a graduation ceremony for new recruits. Of his death, Dienst said: "These are traffic cops who provide law and order. ... Those people were not shooting rockets. They were trying to build a civil society."
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, and was one of the most prominent figures among those killed on the first day of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
The Gaza War, known as Operation Cast Lead in Israel and as the Gaza Massacre in the Arab world, was a three-week bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israel, and hundreds of rocket attacks on south of Israel which...
.
Jaber was originally affiliated with the secular Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
political party, Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
, switching his loyalty to the 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...
government 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 2007.
Bill Dienst, an American doctor who met Jaber at a Gaza border crossing in the summer of 2008, when Dienst and other activists were denied passage into the strip, said that Jaber told him that he had not seen his wife for years: "He couldn't get out and she couldn't get in. It's a common story there."
Jaber was among 40 people killed at a police headquarters in Gaza City where Hamas was hosting a graduation ceremony for new recruits. Of his death, Dienst said: "These are traffic cops who provide law and order. ... Those people were not shooting rockets. They were trying to build a civil society."