Barnawi, Fatima Al- (Birnaoui, Fatma; 1942–)

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BARNAWI, FATIMA AL- (Birnaoui, Fatma; 1942–)

Palestinian militant, active in al-Fatah. Fatima al-Barnawi was born in 1942 in Palestine and trained to be a nurse. She was arrested in 1967 by the Israeli police for participation in an anti-Israeli attack and was sentenced to life imprisonment. She was released ten years later and banished to Jordan, where she joined al-Fatah. Barnawi followed Yasir Arafat to Tunisia, after the Palestinian forces were expelled from Lebanon. In July 1994, when the Palestinian Authority was organized, Arafat appointed Barnawi head of the Policewomen, the women's unit of the civil police force (al-Shurta al-Nisaʾiyeh), which had about 300 members.

SEE ALSO Fatah, al-.

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Barnawi, Fatima Al- (Birnaoui, Fatma; 1942–)

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