Fahd Qawasmi

Fahd Qawasmi (1934–1984) was a Palestinian agricultural engineer and a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). He was the mayor of Hebron between 1976 and 1980. During his tenure he was among the most significant mayors of Palestine along with Hilmi Hanoun, mayor of Tulkarm, and Karim Khalaf, mayor of Ramallah. Qawasmi was expelled by the Israeli government from Palestine due to the killing of six yeshiva students during the attack on settlers by Palestinians in Beit Hadassah, Hebron, in 1980. He was assassinated by the Fatah opponent groups in Amman, Jordan, on 29 December 1984.

Early life and education Qawasmi was born in Hebron on 13 April 1934. Following the Nakba in 1948 the family settled in Cairo, Egypt.

Qawasmi became the mayor of Hebron on 28 March 1976 when he was elected to the post on the list of the nationalist bloc. He succeeded the Hebron's long-term mayor Mohammed Ali Jabari. Qawasmi's tenure as mayor of Hebron ended on 1 May 1980, and Mustafa Natsheh succeeded him in the post. Rajab Al Tamimi, the judge of the Islamic court in Hebron, and Mohammed Hassan Milhim, mayor of Halhul, were also deported from the region during the same period.

Qawasmi lived in Lebanon for a while. He thought that Israel would allow him to return to Hebron. He was among the independent members of the committee.

Death and burial Qawasmi was murdered outside his house in Amman on 29 December 1984. A PLO investigation concluded that he was assassinated by Abu Khaled Al Amleh, a Fatah dissident.

A Jordanian military court sentenced four Palestinians to death on 21 January 1987 for the assassination of Qawasmi. Nayef Khalil Al Bay who was one of the assassins was hanged in Jordan on 29 January 1987.