The poet's father, Abu Arab, was killed in 1948 by Zionist groups who had invaded Palestine. In 1982, the son was killed by Israeli forces during the occupation of Lebanon. As a child, he witnessed the Palestinian Revolution against the British occupation and Jewish emigration. He was known as Abu Arab, the Poet of the Palestinian Revolution, and the Poet of the Palestinian Camp. He died on March 3, 2014 in Homs.