This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Ahmad al-Shukeiri (Arabic: أحمد الشقيري, also transliterated al-Shuqayri, Shuqairi, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry; 1 January 1908 – 26 February 1980) was a Palestinian political leader and the first Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, serving from 1964 to 1967.

[3] In May 1964, he was elected the first Chairman of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) with the support of Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Shukeiri and his colleagues also announced the formation of the Palestinian National Fund, and at the Second Arab Summit Conference in Alexandria in September 1964 of a military wing, the Palestine Liberation Army.

Prior to the Six Day War, Shukeiri, in an interview with Lebanese newspaper al-Yawm, stated "we will endeavor to assist [the Jews] and facilitate their departure by sea to their countries of origin."

"[7] In his 1971 apologia, Dialogues and Secrets with Kings, Shukeiri admitted usage of the phrase and similar language, claiming it reflected the accepted official Arab outlook at the time, but was "indignant that such extremism should be fathered on him alone.