Personal Info
- Country of residence: Portugal
Information
Adel Muhammad Mahmoud Awadallah was born in Gaza City on February 1, 1963, to a Palestinian refugee family originally from the depopulated village of Hamama in the occupied Gaza district. He is married and has four sons and one daughter. He completed his primary education at the New Gaza and Salah al-Din schools, and his secondary education at the Carmel School, from which he obtained his high school diploma in the science stream in 1981. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Birzeit University in 1986, a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Jordan in Amman in 1989, a diploma in educational qualification from the same university in 1991, a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany in 1995, a professorship in organic chemistry in 2006, and a bachelor's degree in Islamic law from the Islamic University in 2006.
Awadallah received a number of research grants, including: a research grant for the Chemistry Department at the University of Jordan in 1996, a research visit to the Chemistry Department at the University of Jordan in 1997, a research visit to the Chemistry Department at the University of Essen in Germany in 1998, the Islamic University grant for scientific research in 2001, the grant from the Palestinian Universities Support Fund emanating from the Association of Arab Universities in 2002, the Islamic University grant for scientific research in 2004, the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education grant in 2005, the Islamic University grant for scientific research between (2007-2011), the Al-Maqdisi grant (France) in 2013, and the UNESCO grant in 2017.
Awadallah worked as a medical laboratory technician at the Friends of the Patient Society in Gaza between 1986 and 1987. He then worked as a research assistant in the Chemistry Department at the University of Jordan between 1987 and 1991. He subsequently moved to the Islamic University of Gaza, where he served as an assistant professor in the Chemistry Department between 1995 and 2001, head of the department between 1997 and 1999, and associate professor between 2001 and 2006. He also served as head of the Quality Committee at the Faculty of Science between 2002 and 2003, Dean of Scientific Research between 2003 and 2007, Vice President of the University for Academic Affairs between 2007 and 2009, Head of the Chemistry Department between 2011 and 2013, Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Science, and Head of the Scientific Research Council at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Gaza between 2013 and 2015. He was a student at the Islamic University between (2015-2017), and a founding member of the Palestinian Chemical Society.
Ashraf Awadallah supervised several master's theses, and supervised two doctoral dissertations in chemistry through the joint supervision program between Al-Aqsa University and Ain Shams University. He also supervised a doctoral dissertation (jointly) in education.
Awadallah believes that the occupying state is a foreign entity in the region, that the Palestinian people are capable of steadfastness, that the future belongs to the Palestinian cause and its people, and that the occupation is destined to end. He considers the Oslo Accords a reality that must be dealt with, as the civil system was built upon them, and that canceling the agreement would lead to the destruction of much of this system, such as Palestinian identity and passports. He believes that the division occurred as a result of the conflicting ideological foundations of Hamas and Fatah, but this does not preclude a minimum level of understanding between them and a concerted effort to find common ground. He believes that the international community's view of Hamas and Islamic Jihad as banned movements complicates their integration into the PLO, which has received Arab and international support. He prefers a gradual solution to the Palestinian issue, arguing that the occupying state is shrinking as part of this gradual process. He believes that a phased solution without compromising the core principles of the Palestinian cause would be a logical step towards ending the occupation.
He believes in the right of refugees to return to Palestine, but acknowledges the significant challenges preventing its implementation. He also believes in the necessity of building and strengthening the various aspects of Palestinian power, advocating for a strength based on sound political reasoning and diplomatic relations, as well as a military force that can be politically leveraged to achieve the goals of the Palestinian people. Awadallah describes the Arab world as in decline, but believes that the course of history is long and requires patience and wisdom; it is a cycle of change, and states and regimes have their opportunities over the years, whether through collapse or rise.
Awadallah describes the current Palestinian system as a democracy controlled by dictatorial forces.
Awadallah suffered under the occupation; his house was bombed in 2009.
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