Zuhir al-Qaisi
| Zuhir al-Qaisi | |
|---|---|
| زهير القيسي | |
| Secretary General of the Popular Resistance Committees | |
|
In office August, 2011 – 9 March, 2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Kamal al-Nirab |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1963 |
| Died | 9 March, 2012 (aged 49) Tel al-Hawa, Gaza |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Political party | Popular Resistance Committees |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | Abu Ibrahim |
| Unit |
 Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades
|
Zuhair al-Qaisi (Arabic: زهير القيسي; l963 – 9 March 2012), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Ibrahim, was secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza. He was killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
al-Qaisi was a member of the Popular Resistance Committees since their establishment in 2000. The Popular Resistance Committees were one of three organizations responsible for the capture of Gilad Shalit. Interviewed regarding Shalit's capture and imprisonment, al-Qaisi is said to have stated that "Israel has tried to pressure us by killing a large number of activists following the abduction, but the resistance and the Palestinians have held their ground".
According to the IDF, though the claim is denied by the PRC, al-Qaisi was one of the masterminds of the 2011 southern Israel cross-border attacks in August 2011, in which eight Israelis were killed. Following this attack, the IDF killed the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees, Kamal al-Nirab, and al-Qaisi was appointed his successor. On January 14, 2012 an explosion at al-Qaisi's home, in Rafah killed one member of his family, Khalid al-Qaisi, and wounded five others. Zuhir al-Qaisi himself was not at home at the time.
On 9 March 2012, al-Qaisi was killed in a missile strike by IDF aircraft, while driving his Opel car in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood west of Gaza. His son-in-law, Mohammed Ahmed al-Hanani, a resident of Beit Furik near Nablus, was also killed in the attack, and a third man was seriously injured. The killing of Hanini was, according to the Egyptian ambassador to Ramallah Yasser Osman and a Hamas spokesman, in violation of the terms of agreement in the Shalit prisoner swap. The government and the Israeli security establishment justified the targeted assassination by explaining at the time that al-Qaisi had been planning a terrorist attack against Israel that was in the final stages of preparation. Sources among the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza say that they had been tipped off a month earlier that Israel was planning to kill him.
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