PFLP-GC Elects New Leader After Jibril’s Death

AFP file photo of Ahmed Jibril
AFP file photo of Ahmed Jibril
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PFLP-GC Elects New Leader After Jibril’s Death

AFP file photo of Ahmed Jibril
AFP file photo of Ahmed Jibril

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command announced on Sunday that it named a new leader after its longtime founder died.

Talal Naji was elected during a meeting in Damascus. He will replace Ahmed Jibril, who died on July 7 after being sick for months.

Naji was born in Nazareth in British-ruled Palestine in 1946. He studied in Syrian schools and joined the ranks of the Palestinian Liberation Front faction in 1962 before later joining the PFLP-GC.

Naji, who had lost an arm and an eye in a grenade explosion reportedly while training, had been the deputy chief of the PFLP-GC since 1973. He obtained a doctorate in political science from Moscow in 1984, The Associated Press reported.

Khaled Jibril, the son of the late leader, was named as his deputy, it said.



Lebanon, Jordan Reopen Airspace

Passengers wait after their flights were delayed or cancelled at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 13 June 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Passengers wait after their flights were delayed or cancelled at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 13 June 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Lebanon, Jordan Reopen Airspace

Passengers wait after their flights were delayed or cancelled at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 13 June 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Passengers wait after their flights were delayed or cancelled at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, 13 June 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanon said it will reopen its airspace on Saturday at 10:00 am local time (0700 GMT), the state news agency NNA said.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport apologized to passengers whose flights were delayed, saying it had closed the airspace late Friday for the safety of travelers.

Jordan also reopened its airspace at 7:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), the civil aviation commission said, a day after it suspended flights amid Iran-Israel tensions.

Airlines steered clear of much of the Middle East on Friday after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites forced carriers to cancel or divert thousands of flights in the latest upheaval to travel in the region.