- Was born in the West Bank town of Qalqilya in 1944, where he completed his basic and secondary schooling. He attended teaching college, and worked as a teacher in the West Bank.
- He got involved in political and party activities at a young age, joining the ranks of the Arab Nationalist Movement in 1961. He was active in the political and student activities of the Movement.
- He joined the military wing of the Movement in 1965, becoming a member of “Shabab al-Thar” and “Abtal Al-Awdah”.
- After the June 1967 war, he left teaching and joined the resistance movement as a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), taking part in the establishment of its military wing in 1968.
- He participated in the establishment of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and was the commander of its military wing from 1972 until 1988. He was a member of the DFLP political and organizational leadership.
- He took part in the establishment of Fida in 1991, following the schism in the DFLP. He was elected a member of its political leadership.
- He was appointed a member of the Palestine National Council in 1971, and a member of the Higher Military Council of the Palestinian revolution since its establishment. He served as the commander of the forces of the revolution in Lebanon from 1985-1988.
- He served as member of the Higher Committee for the Occupied Territories, and the daily command of the first Intifada, under the chairmanship of Yasser Arafat in Tunisia. He was appointed a member of the Higher Follow-up Committee of Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations until 1996, and was a member of the Palestinian team to the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991 in that capacity.
- He returned to the West Bank in 1996, where he was appointed member of the Higher Palestinian National Security Council.
- He has published six books:
- “The Story of the Oslo Agreement” in 1995.
- “The Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations: Madrid-Washington”, in 1996.
- “In Search of Statehood”, in 2000.
- “Intifada: The Shattering of the Peace Process”, in 2002.
- “Electing Mr. President”, in 2005.
- “Maghdouche – The Story of the War on the Lebanese Camps”, in 2006.
- He has published a number of articles, studies and political commentaries in a number of Palestinian and Arab newspapers and journals.