Director of the General Intelligence Service
On 15 September 2009, Faraj was appointed as director of the GIS by PA president Mahmoud Abbas, taking responsibility for counterterrorism efforts.
He was involved in reconciliation efforts with Hamas, participating in a Fatah delegation that held talks with the group in Cairo from 2009 to 2011. The talks in 2009, led by Omar Abd al-Razaq, intended to ease tensions between the two organizations. In 2012, he negotiated the release of two Swedish women held in Syria by al-Nusra Front. He later participated in a Palestine Liberation Organization delegation to the Gaza Strip in April 2014 after the formation of a government led by Rami Hamdallah. In March 2018, Faraj and Hamdallah survived an assassination attempt in Gaza after an explosive detonated near their convoy. The PA accused Hamas of responsibility for the attack, although the group denied this and condemned it. Hamdallah later met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, where they accused "Israel and its collaborators" of committing the attack. Abbas later rejected this statement and again accused Hamas of being the perpetrator.
Under previous Palestinian law (General Intelligence Law No. 17, 2005), which dictated that the GIS director may only serve a four-year term, Faraj's term as intelligence chief ended in 2013. However, he remained in office, having managed to convince Abbas to extend his term indefinitely rather than a one-year extension he was supposed to receive. Faraj used his close relations to the president, which formed after a fallout with his associate, Hussein al-Sheikh, to influence his decision. On 10 January 2023, Abbas amended the law to allow the GIS director to serve for unlimited time, promoting them to the status of minister. This decision was apparently influenced by Israel, the United States, and the European Union.
In March 2025, it was reported that Abbas intended to remove Faraj as GIS director, as part of a purge of Palestinian security officials. He had earlier dismissed the leaders of the Palestinian National Security Forces, the PPS, and the police and civil defense, leaving Faraj as the final security chief to retain his post.
Ties with Israeli and Western intelligence
Faraj is also responsible for coordinating with the Israeli Shin Bet, and has been involved in negotiations with Israel. Thus, he has developed close ties with the agency. He was also close to Yoav Mordechai, the head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank. His security coordination with Israel has made him a controversial figure in Palestine, although his willingness to work with Western officials has garnered him support from governments internationally. He defended his security ties with Israel in a 2016 interview with Defense News, stating that it was preventing chaos and the rise of militias that could destabilize the region, such as the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front. He also announced that Palestinian security forces had foiled over 200 attack plots against Israel and arrested 100 suspects.
In April 2012, Faraj was part of a delegation that met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in Jerusalem. He met with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Department of State in Washington, D.C., in 2013, where he received an honorary award by the US government for providing valuable intelligence to US and Israeli intelligence agencies, including information that led to the capture of senior al-Qaeda operative Abu Anas al-Libi by the Delta Force. Faraj became well-liked by American diplomats such as John Kerry and Martin Indyk, and developed a close relationship with Gen. John R. Allen.
In April 2018, Faraj met with CIA director Mike Pompeo during a visit to Washington, where the two discussed issues including a Palestinian National Council meeting that occurred days earlier. He became the highest-ranking Palestinian to meet with US representatives since the PA imposed a boycott of the Donald Trump administration over Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Later in September, he headed a delegation of security officials that met with the CIA in Washington.
In August 2021, CIA director William J. Burns traveled to the West Bank to meet with Faraj and Abbas. In January 2022, it was reported that he met with Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid, where they discussed economic issues and security coordination without mentioning diplomatic relations. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant reportedly considered him among other Palestinian officials to manage Gaza after the Gaza war. In May 2025, Faraj arrived in Washington to meet CIA director John Ratcliffe and several other senior officials, becoming the first senior PA leader to visit the US under the second Trump administration.
Controversies
In 2013, Hamas accused him of inciting public opinion against it alongside the Egyptian government, claiming that it received documents signed by Faraj detailing an organized media campaign that intended to spread false information about the group's involvement in Egyptian internal affairs.
In June 2016, the UK-based Arab Organization for Human Rights accused Faraj of arbitrary detentions and torture in a complaint to the International Criminal Court.
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Palestine