WAZIR, KHALIL IBRAHIM AL-

born Oct. 10, 1935, Ramla, Palestine [now in Israel] died April 16, 1988, Tunis, Tunisia byname Abu Jihad Palestinian leader who was believed to be the military strategist and second in command of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Wazir fled with his family during the 1948 war that followed the creation of the state of Israel, and he grew up in the Gaza Strip, where he was educated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. He met Yasir 'Arafat in 1951 while attending college in Cairo, and together they organized anti-Israel guerilla actions and founded the militant organization Fatah (1958), which merged with smaller groups to form the PLO (1964). As 'Arafat's deputy and a moderate within the PLO, Wazir often negotiated with PLO extremists, maintained diplomatic relations with other countries, and reportedly planned military strategies and arranged arms purchases for Fatah and the PLO. After the PLO was expelled from Jordan in 1971, he remained in Amman as an unofficial contact there until he in turn was expelled in 1986. He was assassinated in his home by unidentified commandos; Israel later unofficially acknowledged involvement.