Fajr, Al- (Arabic, Meaning "Dawn")

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FAJR, AL- (Arabic, meaning "dawn")

Palestinian daily newspaper, started in 1974, close to the center of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Between 1973 and 1986, al-Fajr, with headquarters in Jerusalem, was closed several times by Israeli authorities, and it was also the object of bombing attacks. Its first editor, Yusif (Joseph) Nasr, was kidnapped and assassinated. In July of 1993, confronted by financial difficulties, al-Fajr was obliged to stop publishing for a period. The newspaper has been under the leadership of Hanna Siniora, and had a distribution of 3,000 to 5,000 copies a day in 2001.