Zakaria Zubeidi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zakaria Zubeidi or Zakariyah Zubeidi (b. 1976) is the current Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

Under his leadership, the Jenin section has built strong ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and distanced itself from Yasser Arafat's al-Fatah party. Zubeidi is currently one of Israel's most wanted, and ranks amongst the most popular militia leaders in Jenin.

In December 2004 Israeli sources criticised Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian presidential candidate, for meeting Zubeidi[1].

In September 2005 he declared that his group's cease-fire was at an end after Samer Saadi and two other militants were killed by the Israelis in Jenin. [2]

On 6 July 2006, the IDF attempted to capture him at a funeral, but he escaped after an exchange of gunfire. [3]

He was at the centre of controversy when Tali Fahima, an Israeli, was imprisoned because of her contacts with him. She was accused of preventing his arrest by the IDF by translating a document for him. Both of them deny allegations that they had a romantic relationship.

He appeared in the film Arna's Children.