Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Haniyeh | |
---|---|
إسماعيل هنية | |
Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority | |
In office 29 March 2006 – 2 June 2014 Disputed from 14 June 2007* | |
President | |
Preceded by | Ahmed Qurei |
Succeeded by | Rami Hamdallah |
Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau | |
Assumed office 6 May 2017 | |
Deputy | Saleh al-Arouri[1] (2017–2024) |
Preceded by | Khaled Mashal |
Hamas Chief in the Gaza Strip | |
In office 2 June 2014 – 13 February 2017 | |
Leader | Khaled Mashal |
Succeeded by | Yahya Sinwar |
Personal details | |
Born | 29 January 1962 unity government was formed in 2014. |
Politics of Palestine |
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Officeholders whose status is disputed are shown in italics |
Member state of the Arab League |
Palestine portal |
Ismail Haniyeh[a] (born 29 January 1962) is a Palestinian politician who is seen as the overall political leader of Hamas, the de facto ruling entity of the Gaza Strip.[2] He is the current chairman of Hamas’s political bureau; as of 2023, Haniyeh lives in Qatar.[3]
Haniyeh was born in the
Haniyeh was head of the Hamas list that won the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006, and so became Prime Minister of the State of Palestine. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah–Hamas conflict, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continued to exercise prime ministerial authority in the Gaza Strip.[6]
Haniyeh was the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from 2006 until February 2017, when he was replaced by Yahya Sinwar. On 6 May 2017, Haniyeh was elected chairman of Hamas's Political Bureau, replacing Khaled Mashaal; at the time, Haniyeh relocated from Gaza to Qatar.[7][8]
Early life and education
Haniyeh was born in the
Early activism
He participated in protests in First Intifada and was given a short prison sentence by an
Following his release in 1992, the Israeli military authorities of the
Political career
Hamas
After Israel released Ahmed Yassin from prison in 1997, Haniyeh was appointed to head his office.[4] His prominence within Hamas grew due to his relationship with Yassin and he was appointed the representative to the Palestinian Authority.[4] His position within Hamas continued to strengthen during the Second Intifada due to his relationship with Yassin, and because of the assassinations of much of the Hamas leadership by the Israeli security forces. He was targeted by the Israel Defense Forces for his alleged involvement in attacks against Israeli citizens. Following a suicide bombing in Jerusalem in 2003, he was slightly injured on his hand by an Israeli Air Force bomb attack attempting to eliminate the Hamas leadership. In December 2005, Haniyeh was elected[citation needed] to head the Hamas list, which won the Legislative Council elections the following month. Haniyeh succeeded Khaled Mashaal's head leadership of Hamas in elections held in 2016.[9]
Prime minister
Haniyeh was nominated as prime minister on 16 February 2006 following the Hamas "List of Change and Reform" victory on 25 January 2006. He was formally presented to president Mahmoud Abbas on 20 February and was sworn in on 29 March 2006.
Western reaction
Israel implemented a series of punitive measures, including economic sanctions, against the Palestinian Authority following the election. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, announced that Israel would not transfer to the Palestinian Authority an estimated $50 million per month in tax receipts that were collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Haniyeh dismissed the sanctions, stating that Hamas would neither disarm nor would it recognize Israel.
Haniyeh expressed regret that Hamas was subjected to punitive measures, adding that "it [Israel] should have responded differently to the democracy expressed by the Palestinian people".
The United States demanded that $50 million in unexpended foreign aid funds for the Palestinian Authority be returned to the United States, which Palestinian Economic Minister Mazen Sonokrot agreed to do.[10] On the loss of foreign aid from the United States and the European Union, Haniyeh commented that: "The West is always using its donations to apply pressure on the Palestinian people."[11]
Several months after Hamas' 2006 election victory, Haniyeh sent a letter to US President Bush, in which he called on the "American government to have direct negotiations with the elected government", offered a long-term truce with Israel, while accepting a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and urged an end to the international boycott, claiming that it would "encourage violence and chaos". The U.S. government did not respond and maintained its boycott.[12]
Dispute with Abbas
An agreement with Abbas was to have been reached to stop Abbas's call for new elections. On 20 October 2006, on the eve of this deal to end factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas, Haniyeh's convoy came under gunfire in Gaza and one of the cars was set on fire.[13] Haniyeh was not hurt in the attack. Hamas sources said that this was not an assassination attempt. Palestinian Authority security sources reported that the attackers were the relatives of a Fatah man killed by clashes with Hamas.[14]
Denied reentry to Gaza
During the simmering
Palestinian National Unity Government of March 2007
Haniyeh resigned on 15 February 2007 as part of the process to form a national unity government between Hamas and Fatah.[17] He formed a new government on 18 March 2007 as head of a new cabinet that included Fatah as well as Hamas politicians.[18]
On 14 June 2007, amid the Battle of Gaza, president Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the March 2007 unity government and the declaration of a state of emergency.[19][20] Haniyeh was dismissed and Abbas ruled Gaza and the West Bank by presidential decree.[6]
After the Battle of Gaza
Around 2016, Haniyeh relocated from Gaza to Qatar. He currently maintains an office in Doha.[21]
On 13 October 2016, the Legal Committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) endorsed a request for the return of Haniyeh's government to the Gaza Strip, following its resignation on 2 June 2014. The endorsement was made in response to PLC's review of a study submitted by members of Hamas' parliament, angry about perceived government failings following Haniyeh's resignation. In Hamas' own words, denouncing the consensus government's "reneging on the internal accord between Hamas and factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization to form the 2014 consensus government, and replacing a number of ministers with Fatah leaders – turning it into a Fatah government." Despite the PLC recommendation and Hamas' plea, both the consensus government and Fatah refused the request, citing in a press release its illegality and risk of further divisions between Hamas-controlled Gaza and the West Bank.[22]
Head of Hamas political bureau
As of November 2016, reports circulated regarding Haniyeh's succession of
In 2018 he was placed on United States' list of specially designated Global terrorists.[26]
Haniyeh left Gaza in September to visit a series of Arab and Muslim states in preparation for his new role, and officially relocated to the Qatari capital of Doha, where Mashaal has been residing.[27] It is expected of the head of Hamas' politburo to live outside of the Gaza Strip.[23]
In February 2020, Haniyeh met with
In August 2020, Haniyeh called Mahmoud Abbas and rejected the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, something which Reuters called a "rare show of unity".[29]
On 26 July 2023, Haniyeh met with Erdoğan and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Behind the meeting was Turkey's effort to reconcile Fatah with Hamas.[30]
Israel-Hamas war
On 7 October 2023, the day of the
- Ismail Haniyeh
- Mahmoud Abbas
On 10 October, Haniyeh said Hamas would not consider the release of any Israeli captives until the war was over. He claimed that the scope of Israel's retaliation was a reflection of the "resounding impact" the October 7 attack had on the country, and reiterated that the Palestinian people in Gaza had a "willingness to sacrifice all that is precious for the sake of their freedom and dignity.” He added that Israel "will pay a heavy price for their crimes and terrorism [against the people of Palestine]."[36]
On 15 October 2023,
On 16 October 2023, Haniyeh and Turkey's Foreign Minister
On 1 November 2023, Haniyeh accused Israel of committing "barbaric massacres against unarmed civilians" after Israel conducted an attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in an operation targeting senior Hamas member Ibrahim Biari, and resolved that fighting would continue until "Palestinians obtain their 'legitimate rights to freedom, independence and return'".[41]
On 2 November 2023, Haniyeh stated that if Israel agreed to a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to bring more aid into Gaza, Hamas is "ready for political negotiations for a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine,” adding that "Israeli captives are subjected to the same destruction and death as our people."[42]
On 13 December, an opinion poll by showed that Haniyeh would defeat incumbent Mahmoud Abbas by a landslide for the position of
Views
Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy
During the
Relations with Israel
In August 2006, on his first visit abroad as prime minister to Iran, Haniyeh said: "We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihad-like movement until the liberation of Jerusalem".[46] In December 2010, Haniyeh stated at a news conference in Gaza, "We accept a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the resolution of the issue of refugees." In addition, he said that if the Palestinian electorate approves such a peace agreement with Israel, his government will abide by it notwithstanding previous Hamas positions on the issue.[47]
On 23 March 2014, during a festival commemorating the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Sheik
Osama bin Laden
On 2 May 2011,
Personal and family life
Haniyeh is married and has 13 children, three of whom were killed in 2024.
Haniyeh's sisters, Kholidia, Laila, and Sabah, are Israeli citizens and live in the
In early 2012, Israeli authorities granted a request to travel by Haniyeh's sister, Suhila Abd el‑Salam Ahmed Haniyeh, and her critically ill husband for emergency heart treatment that could not be treated by hospitals in Gaza.[54] After successful treatment at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, the couple returned to Gaza.[54] Haniyeh's granddaughter was treated in an Israeli hospital in November 2013 and his mother-in-law was treated in an Israeli hospital in June 2014.[55] In October 2014, a few months after the 2014 Israel–Gaza War, Haniyeh's daughter spent a week in an Israeli hospital in Tel Aviv for emergency treatment after she suffered complications from a routine procedure.[55]
In September 2016, Haniyeh left Gaza with his wife and two of his sons for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, known as the Hajj. This trip, interpreted as a campaign commencement, bolstered reports that Haniyeh was to replace Mashaal.[56] He went to Qassim Suleimani's funeral, in Tehran, Iran in 2020.[57][58]
Haniyeh currently[update] lives in Qatar.[59][60][61][62]
In October 2023, 14 members of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on his family home in Gaza City, among them a brother and nephew.[63] In November 2023, a granddaughter of his was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.[64] Later that month his eldest grandson was killed in an Israeli strike.[65] Three of his sons and three grandchildren were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on 10 April 2024.[66] [67]
Notes
References
- ^ "Hamas appoints West Bank terror chief as its deputy leader". The Times of Israel. 5 October 2017.
- ^ Alshawabkeh, Lina (17 October 2023). "Who are the leaders of Hamas?". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ "Ismail Haniyeh". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Profile: Hamas PM Ismail Haniya". BBC. 14 December 2006.
- ^ a b c d e Donald Macintyre (3 January 2009). "Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh at war with Israel – and his own rivals". Belfast Telegraph.
- ^ a b "Abbas sacks Hamas-led government". BBC News. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ^ "Ex-Gaza leader Haniyeh reportedly to replace Mashaal as Hamas head". The Times of Israel. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "Hamas says Ismail Haniyeh chosen as Islamic group's leader". Yahoo News. 7 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ "Khaled Mashaal to step down as Hamas leader – report". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "PNA agrees to return 50-million-dollar fund to US" Archived 19 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Xinhua, 19 February 2006
- ^ "Hamas dismisses Israeli sanctions", BBC, 20 February 2006
- ^ "In 2006 letter to Bush, Haniyeh offered compromise with Israel". Haaretz. 14 November 2008.
- ^ "Haniya unhurt in convoy shooting", BBC, 20 October 2006
- ^ "Haniyeh unhurt by attack on convoy in Gaza", Haaretz, 20 October 2006
- ^ "Palestinian PM denied Gaza entry", BBC, 14 December 2006
- ^ "Egypt seeks to ease Gaza tensions", BBC, 15 December 2006
- ^ "Palestinian unity deal under way"BBC, 15 February 2007
- ISBN 978-1-4330-6755-6.
- ^ "Abbas Dissolves Palestinian Authority Government in Wake of Hamas-Fatah War". Fox News. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ^ Levinson, Charles; Matthew Moore (14 June 2007). "Abbas declares state of emergency in Gaza". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
- ^ Rothwell, James. "THE HAMAS LEADER BEHIND GROUP'S DEADLIEST ATTACK ON ISRAEL". The Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Hamas calls for return of Haniyeh's government". Al-Monitor. 21 October 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ a b "Ex-Gaza leader Haniyeh reportedly to replace Mashaal as Hamas head". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "Abbas, Hamas leaders hold first talks in two years to discuss Palestinian unity". Haaretz. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ Alabbasi, Mamoon (15 November 2016). "Will there be changes under new Hamas and Fatah leaders?". Middle East Online. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "State Department Terrorist Designations of Ismail Haniyeh, Harakat al-Sabireen, Liwa al-Thawra, and Harakat Sawa'd Misr (HASM)". U.S. Embassy in Israel. US Department of State. 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Shadowy Hamas official with ties to Iran tapped to lead Gaza". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "US Criticizes Turkey for Hosting Hamas Leaders". VOA News. 26 August 2020.
- ^ Farrell, Stephen (13 August 2020). "Israel hails UAE deal but Palestinians – and settlers – dismayed". Reuters.
- ^ "Erdogan hosts PA's Abbas, Hamas head Haniyeh to prepare for détente talks". The Times of Israel. 26 July 2023.
- ^ Tastekin, Fehim. "Eying Gaza mediator role, Turkey cools Hamas ties, Erdogan restrains rhetoric". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Israel vows 'mighty vengeance' after surprise attack".
- ^ "Hamas leader Haniyeh: Battle 'will spread to West Bank, Jerusalem'". Arab News. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Hamas leader Haniyeh says Israel can't provide protection for Arab countries". Reuters. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Public Opinion Poll No (90)" (PDF). Palestinian Center for POLICY and SURVEY RESEARCH. 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Haniyeh says Israeli prisoner issue won't be dealt with until war ends". Middle East Monitor. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ "Ankara officially denies booting Hamas chief over October 7 massacres".
- ^ "Report: Hamas chiefs were asked to leave Turkey after October 7 attacks". The Times of Israel. 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Turkey discusses with Hamas the release of civilian hostages -foreign ministry source". Reuters. 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Turkey's Erdogan discussed Gaza with Hamas leader - Turkish presidenc". Reuters. 21 October 2023.
- ^ "Hamas leader accuses Israel of 'barbaric massacres' after refugee camp hit". Al Jazeera. 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Haniyeh says Hamas ready for negotiations on a two-state solution if Israel stops war on Gaza". Al-Ahram. 1 November 2023.
- ^ "Palestinian poll shows a rise in Hamas support and close to 90% wanting US-backed Abbas to resign".
- ^ "Israel Finally Reveals New Location for Marwan Barghouti".
- ^ Fisher, Ian (16 September 2006). "Pope Apologizes for Uproar over His Remarks". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Palestinian prime minister vows not to recognize Israel". USA Today. 8 December 2006.
- ^ "Hamas vows to honor Palestinian referendum on peace with Israel". Haaretz. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
- ^ Low turnout at Hamas rally sign of declining support? By Asmaa al-Ghoul, Al Monitor, 27 March 2014
- ^ a b c Abbas government welcomes bin Laden death, Hamas deplores, Reuters 2 May 2011
- ^ Lazar Berman. "Did Hamas Really Just Say That?".
- ^ "US: Hamas Leader's bin Laden Remarks 'Outrageous'" by David Gollust, Voice of America,3 May 2011
- ^ a b c d e f Peskin, Doron (15 July 2014). "Hamas got rich as Gaza was plunged into poverty". Ynet. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Hamas leader's three sisters live secretly in Israel as full citizens". The Telegraph. 2 June 2006.
- ^ a b "Hamas PM's brother-in-law treated in Israeli hospital". Al Arabiya. 8 August 2012.
- ^ a b Williams, Dan (19 October 2014). "Hamas leader's daughter received medical treatment in Israel: sources". Reuters.
- ^ "The arcane pathway to Hamas's top post, and who might win it". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "Hamas leader Haniyeh attends Soleimani's funeral in Iran". Arab News. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ "Hamas leader attends Soleimani's funeral in Iran". Al Arabiya English. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ Alshawabkeh, Lina (17 October 2023). "Hamas: Who are the group's most prominent leaders?". BBC. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Dyer, Evan (18 October 2023). "How tiny Qatar hosts the leaders of Hamas without consequences". CBC News. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Stein, Jeff (2 November 2023). "Hamas's vast financial network faces new U.S. scrutiny". The Washington Post.
- ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ "Israel strikes Gaza home of Hamas political leader-in-exile, killing 14". The Times of Israel. 17 October 2023.
- ^ Granddaughter of Hamas chief Haniyeh reportedly killed in Gaza
- ^ Palestinian media: Ismail Haniyeh's grandson killed in IDF attack in Gaza
- ^ "Israeli air attack kills 3 children, 3 grandchildren of Hamas leader Haniyeh: Report". Al Jazeera. 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Israeli airstrike kills three sons of Hamas political leader in Gaza as ceasefire talks stutter". CNN.
External links
- Media related to Ismail Haniyeh at Wikimedia Commons
- Quotations related to Ismail Haniyeh at Wikiquote
- "Profile: Ismail Haniya". Al Jazeera. 19 February 2006.
- "We Do Not Wish to Throw Them into the Sea". The Washington Post. 26 February 2006.
- "Spiegel Interview with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh: 'We Want Peace and Stability'". Der Spiegel. 12 June 2006.
- David Margolick (September 2006). "The Most Dangerous Job in Gaza". Vanity Fair.