Husseini, Faisal ibn Abd al- Qadir al-

▪ 2002

      Palestinian political leader (b. July 17, 1940, Baghdad, Iraq—d. May 31, 2001, Kuwait City, Kuwait), was the most senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official in Jerusalem and a pragmatic but persistent spokesman for Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem. Much of Husseini's influence within the Palestinian community was due to respect for his illustrious family. His father was a Palestinian military hero who died in battle against Zionist forces outside Jerusalem in 1948; a more distant relative, Amin al-Husayni, had been the grand mufti of Jerusalem (1921–48). Husseini studied science in Egypt and military tactics in Syria and joined Yasir Arafat's Fatah movement in 1961 and the PLO in 1965. When most other PLO leaders left Israel, Husseini remained in Jerusalem. He was repeatedly arrested by Israeli authorities and learned Hebrew while in prison. In later years he joined other moderates on both sides in support of U.S.-mediated peace negotiations, and he was often invited to represent the Palestinian point of view on Israeli radio and television. Husseini's home, Orient House, served as the unofficial PLO headquarters in East Jerusalem. He died of a heart attack while on a PLO peace mission to Kuwait.

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