Qadri Abu Bakr (L), the Palestinian Authority's detainees and ex-detainees affairs minister, speaks during a press conference in front of the headquarters of International Committee of the Red Cross in Al-Bireh, West Bank on Sept. 7, 2020. (Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Palestinian Authority Minister and Former Prisoner Killed in West Bank Car Crash

The Media Line Staff

07/02/2023

Qadri Abu Bakr, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of detainees and ex-detainees affairs, was killed Saturday in a car crash in the northern West Bank. The accident also claimed the lives of Bassem Sawan, a former Palestinian prisoner, and his wife.

The incident occurred on Route 505 near Jamma’in, around 15 miles north of Ramallah, as Abu Bakr was returning from an event honoring the children of Palestinian prisoners.

Born in the West Bank village of Biddya in 1953, Abu Bakr spent 17 years in prison after being arrested by Israeli forces for transferring weapons to the West Bank. He was subsequently exiled to Iraq but returned to serve as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and the Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs Ministry from 2018 until his death.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Health Minister Mai al-Kaila mourned Abu Bakr’s death, commending his life-long commitment to the Palestinian cause. Abbas described Abu Bakr as a dedicated fighter who has always stood at the forefront of national action and struggle.

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