Ismail Haniyeh

Ismail Haniyeh (8 May 1963 – 31 July 2024) was a Palestinian politician who was widely considered to be the chief political leader of Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. 

He was the chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau. From 2017 until his death, he lived in Qatar. He was assassinated in Iran on 31 July 2024.

Haniyeh was born in the al-Shati refugee camp in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip in 1963. He studied at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he first became involved with Hamas, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Arabic literature in 1987. Appointed to head a Hamas office in 1997, he subsequently rose in the ranks of the organization.

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. However, Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007. Due to the then-ongoing Fatah–Hamas conflict, Haniyeh did not acknowledge Abbas' decree and continued to exercise prime ministerial authority in the Gaza Strip.

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 Mashal; at the time, Haniyeh relocated to Qatar from the Gaza Strip. On 31 July 2024, Iranian media reported that Haniyeh had been killed during a visit to Iran.

Early life and education

Ismail Abdulsalam Ahmed Haniyeh was born to a family of Muslim Palestinians in the al-Shati refugee camp of the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. His parents were originally living in what is now Ashkelon before the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight, which took place during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In his youth, he worked in Israel to support his family. He attended United Nations–run schools and graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza with a degree in Arabic literature in 1987. He become involved with Hamas while at university. From 1985 to 1986, he was head of the students' council representing the Muslim Brotherhood. He played as a midfielder in the Islamic Association football team. He graduated at about the time that the First Intifada against the Israeli occupation broke out, during which he participated in protests against Israel.

Early activism

Haniyeh participated in protests in the First Intifada and was given a short prison sentence by an Israeli military court. He was detained by Israel again in 1988 and imprisoned for six months. In 1989, he was imprisoned for three years.

Following his release in 1992, the Israeli military authorities of the occupied Palestinian territories deported him to Lebanon with senior Hamas leaders Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, Mahmoud Zahhar, Aziz Duwaik, and 400 other activists. The activists stayed at Marj al-Zahour in southern Lebanon for over a year, where, according to BBC News, Hamas "received unprecedented media exposure and became known throughout the world". A year later, he returned to Gaza and was appointed dean of the Islamic University.

Political career

Hamas

After Israel released Ahmed Yassin from prison in 1997, Haniyeh was appointed to head his office. His prominence within Hamas grew due to his relationship with Yassin and he was appointed as the representative to the Palestinian Authority. 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 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.

Denied re-entry to Gaza

During the simmering Fatah–Hamas conflict, on 14 December 2006, Haniyeh was denied entry to Gaza from Egypt at the Rafah Border Crossing. The border crossing was closed by order of Israeli Minister of Defence, Amir Peretz. Haniyeh was returning to Gaza from his first official trip abroad as prime minister. He was carrying an estimated 30 million USD in cash, intended for Palestinian Authority payments. Israeli authorities later stated that they would allow Haniyeh to cross the border provided he left the money in Egypt, which would reportedly be transferred to an Arab League bank account. A gun battle between Hamas militants and the Palestinian Presidential Guard was reported at the Rafah Border Crossing in response to the incident. The EU monitors who operated the crossing were reportedly evacuated safely. When Haniyeh later attempted to cross the border, an exchange of gunfire left one bodyguard dead and Haniyeh's eldest son wounded. Hamas denounced the incident as an attempt by rival Fatah on Haniyeh's life, prompting firefights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between Hamas and Fatah forces. Haniyeh was quoted as saying that he knew who the alleged perpetrators were, but declined to identify them and appealed for Palestinian unity. Egypt has since offered to mediate the situation.

Head of Hamas political bureau

As of November 2016, reports circulated regarding Haniyeh's succession of Khaled Mashaal as leader of Hamas. Mashaal, Haniyeh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Qatar recently to discuss national reconciliation and the upcoming national elections. This meeting signaled that Haniyeh had been selected over the other two likely candidates, senior Hamas member Moussa Mohammed Abu Marzook and Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar.

In 2018 he was placed on United States' list of specially designated global terrorists.

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. It is expected of the head of Hamas' politburo to live outside of the Gaza Strip.

In February 2020, Haniyeh met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. U.S. State Department stated: "President Erdogan's continued outreach to this terrorist organization only serves to isolate Turkey from the international community, harms the interests of the Palestinian people, and undercuts global efforts to prevent terrorist attacks launched from Gaza."

In August 2020, Haniyeh called Mahmoud Abbas and rejected the normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, something which Reuters called a "rare show of unity".

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.

Israel–Hamas war

On 7 October 2023, the day of the Hamas attack on Israel, Haniyeh was in Istanbul, Turkey. Footage from his office in the Qatari capital of Doha showed Haniyeh celebrating the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel with other Hamas officials, before they prayed and praised God. Haniyeh became the public face of the attack, publicly describing it as the start of a new era in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Haniyeh gave a televised address in which he cited threats to Al-Aqsa mosque, the Israeli blockade of Gaza, and plight of Palestinian refugees: "How many times have we warned you that the Palestinian people have been living in refugee camps for 75 years, and you refuse to recognise the rights of our people?" He went on to say that Israel, "which cannot protect itself in the face of resistors", could not provide protection for other Arab countries, and that "all the normalization agreements that you signed with that entity cannot resolve this (Palestinian) conflict."

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]."

On 15 October 2023, Times of Israel said that Haniyeh "was politely sent away" from Turkey; Turkey officially denied these reports. Haniyeh later met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Doha, Qatar.

On 16 October 2023, Haniyeh and Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the possibility of releasing the hostages taken during the Hamas attack on Israel. On 21 October 2023, Haniyeh spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about the latest developments in the Israel–Hamas war and the current situation in Gaza.

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'".

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."

On 13 December, an opinion poll by showed that Haniyeh would defeat incumbent Mahmoud Abbas by a landslide for the position of President of the State of Palestine (78% for Haniyeh and 16% for Abbas). However, in a three-way race between Haniyeh, Abbas and Marwan Barhgouti, Barghouti would win 47%, Haniyeh would win 43% and Abbas would win 7%. Barghouti is under solitary imprisonment by Israel.

Legal case

On 20 May 2024, an arrest warrant for Haniyeh, as well as for other Palestinian and Israeli leaders, was requested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine, on several counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israel-Hamas war.

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". 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.

On 23 March 2014, during a festival commemorating the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Sheik Ahmad Yassin, Haniyeh delivered a speech to a crowd of Hamas supporters, saying "From within Gaza, I repeat again and again: We will not recognize Israel... The Gaza blockade is unfortunately getting tighter and tighter." During this speech, the crowd chanted "Move forward Hamas, move! We are the cannon and you are the bullets. ... Oh Qassam, our beloved, bombard Tel Aviv."

Osama bin Laden

On 2 May 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces, and the killing was praised by Hamas's rival Fatah. Haniyeh instead referred to bin Laden as an "Arab holy warrior" and condemned his killing as "the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs". Political analysts said the remarks were an attempt to cool differences in the Gaza Strip with Al-Qaeda-inspired Salafi groups, which condemn Hamas as too moderate. Another analyst wrote that Haniyeh's statement was directed at an Arab audience, and he saw an opportunity to distinguish Hamas from Fatah and exploit anti-American sentiment. The United States government condemned his remarks as "outrageous".

Personal and family life

Haniyeh was married and had 13 children, three of whom were killed in 2024. In 2009, the family lived in Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. In 2010, Haniyeh purchased a 2,500-square-metre (0.6-acre) parcel of land in Rimal, a Gaza City beachfront neighborhood. Haniyeh registered the land in the name of his son-in-law. Subsequently, Haniyeh reportedly purchased additional homes and registered them under the names of his children. According to a 2014 Ynet article, Haniyeh was a millionaire, stemming from the 20% tax charged on all items entering through tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh's eldest son was arrested by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah Border Crossing with several million dollars, which he intended to take into Gaza.

Haniyeh's sisters, Kholidia, Laila, and Sabah, are Israeli citizens and live in the Bedouin town of Tel as-Sabi in southern Israel. Kholodia moved to Tel as-Sabi first and then her two sisters followed. Kholidia's husband said "Our life is normal here and we want it to continue." Laila and Sabah are both widowed but remain in Tel as-Sabi, presumably to retain their Israeli citizenship. Some of the children of the three sisters have served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

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. After successful treatment at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, the couple returned to Gaza. 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. 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.

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. He went to Qassim Suleimani's funeral, in Tehran, Iran in 2020.

As of 2023, Haniyeh lived in Qatar.

Killing of family members by Israel

In October 2023, fourteen members of his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike on his family home in Gaza City, among them a brother and nephew.

In November 2023, a granddaughter of his was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Later that month his eldest grandson was killed in an Israeli strike.

Three of his sons and three grandchildren were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on 10 April 2024.

On 25 June 2024, ten members of his family, including his 80-year old sister, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in al-Shati refugee camp.

Death

Main article: Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh

On 31 July 2024, Iranian state media reported that Haniyeh had been assassinated in Tehran, where he was attending the inauguration of president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian.[78] Hamas said that he was killed by a "Zionist" airstrike on his residence along with one of his bodyguards.