Who is Ibrahim al Soukori from The Haj and what is their importance?

Ibrahim al Soukori is twenty two years old at the book's opening. His father dies, having named him Muktar of Tabah. Ibrahim is the leader of the Soukori in the village of Tabah. He is the one who greets Gideon Asch when he arrives with a group building the kibbutz of Shemesh ten miles down the road. Ibrahim tells Gideon he isn't welcome in Tabah. Ibrahim's men attack the new Jewish settlement that night and "fight like women" and run off. Ibrahim watches as the Jews build their settlement.