Belal was born in Tamra, Israel. He completed a B.Sc. and a master’s degree at the University of Ben-Gurion in the Negev, Israel, where he studied chemistry with a focus on organocatalysis. He completed a master’s project under the supervision of Prof. Anat Milo, focusing on the use of an organocatalyst to form new, selective C-C bonds through the condensation reaction of ortho-substituted benzaldehydes. He has since joined the Marek group and is currently working on stereoselective intramolecular nucleophilic substitution reactions via non-classical carbocations to form stereodefined heterocycles.