Ismail Haniya murder: Who will come to the leadership of Hamas?
Last Updated on August 1, 2024 11:04 am
Ismail Haniya, the head of the political wing of the Palestinian independence group Hamas, has been assassinated in Iran. After the sudden killing of Haniya, the question has arisen who will take the reins of Hamas in his absence?
He went to Tehran, the capital of Iran, to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Iran, Massoud Pezeshkian. He was assassinated there in his residence. One of Hania’s bodyguards was also killed in the attack.
Ismail Haniyeh was widely regarded as the overall leader of Hamas in Iran until his death. In 2017, he was elected as the head of the political bureau of Hamas. In 2018, the US State Department designated Haniya as a ‘terrorist’. He had been living in Qatar for the past few years.
Now the question is who are the most prominent leaders of this group of freedom fighters who continue to struggle against Israeli occupation and aggression. From among whom you can come forward in leadership in the current situation. Here are some of the biggest leaders of Hamas. It is assumed that one of them will come as Haniya’s successor.
Marwan Isa
Marwan Isa, known as the ‘shadow man’ and right-hand man of Mohammed Deif, is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and a member of the Political and Military Bureau of the Hamas movement.
He was arrested by Israeli forces during the ‘First Intifada’ for his involvement in Hamas activities at a very young age and held in prison for five years.
Israel says as long as he lives, its ‘war of brains’ with Hamas will continue. They describe him as a ‘man of words, not a man of action’ and say he is so clever that he can ‘turn any plastic into metal’.
His house was also destroyed twice by Israeli warplanes during the Gaza offensive in 2014 and 2021. His brother died in that attack. His face was unknown before a group photo taken in 2011 of the Israeli army welcoming prisoners released in exchange for Gilad Shalit.
Isa, also known as Nam-de-Guerre Abu al-Bara, has played a role in various war plans, from the 2012 ‘Shell Stones’ attack to the 2023 attacks. It includes field forces, intelligence and technical forces, the extent of organized and precise planning, and special attention to settlement and security headquarters – all indicate his involvement.
Khaled Meshal
Khaled Meshaal is one of the founders of the Hamas movement and has been a member of its political bureau since its inception. He chaired the Political Bureau between 1996 and 2017 and was appointed its leader after the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the head of the Mossad spy agency to kill Meshaal in 1997. He asked to prepare a plan to carry out the murder.
Ten Mossad agents entered Jordan with fake Canadian passports at which time Jordanian citizen Khaled Meshaal was injected with a poison while walking on a street in the capital, Amman.
Jordanian authorities discovered the assassination attempt and arrested the two Mossad members involved. Jordan’s late King Hussein asks the Israeli prime minister for an antidote to the poison injected into Meshaal, but Netanyahu initially refuses the request.
The assassination attempt took on a political dimension as US President Bill Clinton intervened to force Netanyahu to supply the antidote.
On May 6, 2017, the movement’s Shura Council elected Ismail Haniya as the head of the political bureau.
Mahmud Zahar
Mahmoud Zahar is considered one of the main leaders of Hamas and the political leader of the movement. Mahmoud Zahar was held in Ismaili Prison for six months in 1988, six months after the founding of the Hamas movement.
He was among those deported from Ismail to Marz al-Zuhur in 1992, where he spent an entire year.
Zahar served as the Foreign Ministry in Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s government from 2005 when the Hamas movement won a majority in the legislative elections until President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Palestinian Authority.
Ismail attempted to kill Zahar in 2003 by dropping a half-ton bomb from an F-16 aircraft on Zahar’s home in the Rimal area of Gaza City. He was slightly injured in the attack but his elder son Khaled died.
His second son, Hossam, was one of the 18 people killed in an Israeli raid east of Gaza on January 15, 2008. Hossam was also a member of the Kassam Brigade.
Source: BBC