Samir al-Mashharawy

Samir al-Mashharawy (سمير المشهراوي) was born in Rafah (southern Gaza) in 1965. He is a member of Fatah, aligned with exiled leader Mohammed Dahlan and his Democratic Reform Bloc. During the cancelled 2021 legislative elections, he was a candidate on Dahlan’s ‘Future’ list.

In 2012 Mahmoud Abbas dismissed al-Mashharawy from Fatah’s Revolutionary Council.

He was first arrested by Israeli forces while at secondary school for leading student protests against Israel. Since then he has been arrested on multiple occasions by Israel, joining Fatah while in detention. Once released, he became a Fatah leader in the Gaza Strip and took part in the Second Intifada.

Al-Mashharawy participated in governments under both Yasser Arafat and Abbas, and was part of Preventive Security (PS). However, he has since accused the PA leadership of corruption.