Hamas mourns death of founder Sheikh Nabil Al-Bishtawi

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement is mourning the death of one of its founders. Sheikh Nabil Al-Bishtawi passed away in the West Bank city of Nablus at the weekend.

Citing his record of serving his people and cause, Hamas said on its website that Al-Bishtawi was one of the first members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and one of the movement’s founders. The movement offered its sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Al-BIshtawi was one of the hundreds of Hamas members who were expelled by the Israeli occupation authorities to Marj Al-Zohour in southern Lebanon in 1992. This was one of the pivotal moments in the movement’s history, as it attracted a huge amount of media attention and exposed Israeli policies to unwanted scrutiny.

The occupation state expected the Hamas officials to move into Lebanon and melt away in the refugee camps, but they refused. Instead, they put up with months of privation and severe weather before being allowed to return to their homes in occupied Palestine.

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