The Yasser Arafat Foundation commemorated today, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, the birthday of the committed national leader Mustafa Ali Al-Ali Al-Zibri "Abu Ali Mustafa", at the Al-Muntada Hall of the Yasser Arafat Museum.

The event began with the Palestinian national anthem, followed by a minute of silence and the recitation of Al-Fatiha for the souls of the late President Yasser Arafat and Abu Ali Mustafa, as well as all the martyrs of Palestine.

Dr. Ahmed Soboh, the General Director of the Yasser Arafat Foundation, welcomed the attendees, stating: "This event is part of the program 'In the National Memory - Comrades of the Path', which the Foundation has been implementing for the third consecutive year, highlighting symbols and leaders among the founders and companions of the late President Yasser Arafat." He noted that this year, the birthday of Mahmoud Darwish was celebrated, today commemorates the birthday of Abu Ali Mustafa, and later this year, the birthday of Majid Abu Sharar and Salim Al-Za'noon will be commemorated.

Dr.Soboh continued, stating from A;-Muntada Hall near the tomb of the founding president and his final resting place, the Foundation commemorates the birthday of the committed leader, who morally committed himself to his homeland and paid the price with his life afterward, adhering to a nationalist and unifying stance.

Dr.Soboh pointed out that we commemorate while Gaza is under deliberate destruction and subjected to genocide, with its eighth month approaching, and in the West Bank, colonial settlement continues, and settlers' attacks persist. In Jerusalem, there are clear signs of seizing the homes of Jerusalemites to Judaize the city and evacuate it from its inhabitants. In Israeli occupation prisons, prisoners are subjected to the worst forms of torture. Despite all of this, we remain steadfast in our land, clinging to our steadfast national rights to end the occupation and achieve national independence with our independent state on the 1967 borders and its capital, East Jerusalem.

He also mourned the Politburo member, Comrade Talal Abu Zarifa, who was targeted directly by shelling in Gaza.

Sabeh added that Abu Ali Mustafa is close to the qualities of Abu Jihad Al-Wazir, as they were comrades on the same path, united by their nationalist and revolutionary thoughts, and they worked silently without noise, sincere in all their actions.

"We meet today to commemorate his memory, and despite the continuing killings, destruction, and starvation, we insist on our right to life, recalling the state of return to the homeland for Abu Ali Mustafa in 1999, to stand among his people steadfast and resistant," Sabeh said.

The Foundation also presented a film produced by it titled "The Committed Leader," narrating some of the biography and journey of Abu Ali Mustafa and his contributions to the Palestinian revolution.

In his speech, his friends' representative and a member of his hometown's Executive Committee, Comrade Saleh Ra'fat, said, "We gather today to commemorate the birth of Abu Ali Mustafa in the shadows of the Yasser Arafat Foundation, the national institution that works to preserve the history of Yasser Arafat and his comrades."

Ra'fat affirmed that Mustafa departed physically, but his approach and thought are present in meetings, demonstrations, festivals, and the homes of prisoners, martyrs, and the wounded.

He expressed the great loss to the Palestinian people upon the martyrdom of Abu Ali Mustafa, as we lost a brave and distinguished leader with a heart like the marshes of Ibn Amer and a heart as solid as the rocks of his hometown, Arraba.

Ra'fat also said that Abu Ali Mustafa always prioritized his national interests over his own, being stubborn in achieving the nation's interests and sincere to his comrades.

In the family's speech delivered by his brother, Taysir Al-Zibri, he began by thanking the Foundation, its director, and all its staff for commemorating the memory of Abu Ali Mustafa and for this program that chronicles the stages of the Palestinian revolution, not individuals.

Taysir stated that there is a dual feeling when talking about Abu Ali Mustafa: he is either the sincere, simple brother or the distinguished leader. Nevertheless, he is one personality representing every Palestinian, emerging from a committed nationalist and ethical home.

He continued, "We grew up in a simple house in the village of Arraba in the Jenin Governorate, inheriting a lot from our father and his characteristics due to his proximity to Sheikh Ezz al-Din al-Qassam and his later proximity to the Arab nationalists when we moved to the Jordanian capital, Amman."

Taysir recalled some of Abu Ali Mustafa's traits, stating that he was an avid reader who combined toughness, awareness, and intelligence. He was a nationalist man with a thought and vision, viewing the Palestinian cause as an Arab-Palestinian national issue.

The event was attended by members of the Executive Committees of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Fatah's Central Committee, members of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, leaders from factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, numerous influential figures, and writers.

The event also included a photo exhibition titled "Images from the National Memory of the Late Abu Ali Mustafa" and the distribution of a biography of Abu Ali Mustafa.