'Between the sword and the neck': Palestinians remember Ghassan Kanafani 46 years after his assassination

Palestinians are marking the 26th anniversary of the death of renowned writer and Marxist resistance leader Ghassan Kanafani. 

The “hero” to whom they leaving heartfelt tributes on social media was known as a “commando who never fired a gun, whose weapon was a ball-point pen, and his arena the newspaper pages”. 

Kanafani was a passionate nationalist who lived his life with the trauma of experiencing the Nakba just before becoming a teenager, at the age of 12.

He is often remembered for coining the concept of adab al-moqawameh, which means the resistance of literature. Under this theory, resisting through literature is just as important as physical resistance.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader was assassinated with his niece on 8 July 1972.

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Just two years before his death, he was interviewed by British journalist Richard Carleton in 1970, who asked him why he does not believe in partaking in peace talks with Israel.

"You do not mean peace talks, you mean surrender ... that is kind of conversation between the sword and the neck."

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His writing is also remembered:

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And his political commitment to his writing:

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The Palestinian Youth Movement had also announced a scholarship in his honour:

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