Barran Press
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has declared the appointment of Yahya Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated in Tehran last week. Hamas officials have described Sinwar's selection as a "message with significant implications for Israel and its allies."
"The movement has chosen Sinwar as its leader in a message with significant implications for the enemy and its allies," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas leader, in a press statement.
Hamas announced Sinwar's appointment on Tuesday, August 6th, following Haniyeh's assassination on July 31st in Tehran. Haniyeh was killed shortly after attending the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Hamas stated in a separate statement that Sinwar was chosen after "extensive and in-depth consultations within the movement's leadership institutions."
The movement expressed confidence in Sinwar's leadership during this "sensitive period, marked by complex local, regional, and international circumstances."
Osama Hamdan, another Hamas leader, confirmed Sinwar's selection, emphasizing that it was reached through "consensus" among the movement's Shura Council and various leadership bodies.
Hamdan stated that Sinwar's appointment as head of Hamas's political bureau, its executive body, "reaffirms the movement's unity and its understanding of the threats it faces."
He further asserted that the selection demonstrates that "Israel's assassination policy will not succeed in breaking the resistance."
Who is Yahya Sinwar?
Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar was born in 1962 in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. His family, originally from the city of Majdal in southern Israel, was displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Sinwar earned a bachelor's degree in Arabic Studies from the Islamic University of Gaza.
During his university years, Sinwar was a prominent student activist, serving as an active member of the Islamic Bloc, the student branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. This involvement provided him with valuable experience and leadership skills that propelled him to key roles within Hamas after its founding in 1987.
In 1982, Sinwar was arrested for the first time by the Israeli army and released after a few days. He was rearrested later that year and sentenced to six months in prison for participating in security activities against Israel.
On January 20, 1988, Sinwar was arrested again and sentenced to life imprisonment four times, plus an additional 30 years. He was accused of establishing the Majd Security Apparatus and participating in the formation of Hamas's first military wing, known as the "Palestinian Mujahideen."
Sinwar spent 23 consecutive years in Israeli prisons before being released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, known as the "Shalit Deal."
Following his release, Sinwar participated in Hamas's internal elections in 2012, winning a seat on the movement's political bureau and assuming responsibility for overseeing the military wing, the "Qassam Brigades."
In September 2015, the United States added Sinwar to its list of "international terrorists."
Sinwar's appointment as the new head of Hamas comes at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories. His leadership will be tested as he navigates the complex challenges facing the movement, including the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the internal divisions within Palestinian society.
Sinwar and the Storm
Following the October 7th events, Sinwar's name has been a constant presence in security and political circles in Israel and beyond. He has sparked a flurry of questions about his personality, ideologies, and vision for the conflict, as well as the motivations behind his decisions and their potential consequences.
Sinwar is often described as the "mastermind" behind the October 7th events, with his ideas and leadership within prisons, his relationships with other factions, and the motivations that led him to the brink of conflict, all coming under scrutiny.
Rise Within the Prisons
Sinwar's journey began in Israeli prisons in the early 1990s, where he emerged as a key figure in the formation of Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He played a crucial role in orchestrating a series of attacks against Israeli military targets and settlers.
Despite his involvement in the security aspect, Sinwar was arrested early on while the military operations were still in their developmental stages. His relationship with prominent figures within Hamas's military wing deepened within the prisons, as more prominent names were incarcerated.
This relationship, forged and matured with the military wing, entered a new chapter following the release of "Abu Ibrahim" and his comrades in 2011, as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.
Mohammed Sinwar, Yahya's younger brother, was a prominent figure in the military wing and was involved in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held captive for years before being released in the exchange deal.
Mohammed's role, alongside his comrades who were released from prison, along with Yahya's established standing within Hamas, opened doors for him within the military wing.
Sinwar and the Shalit Deal
The capture of Gilad Shalit and the subsequent negotiations for a prisoner exchange significantly altered Sinwar's trajectory. He was at the top of Hamas's list of demands for release, and the events surrounding the Shalit deal solidified his position within and outside the prisons. He began playing a more prominent role in the negotiation process.
The negotiations between Israel and Hamas had progressed significantly when Sinwar entered the scene, rejecting the proposed outcomes and initiating a new course.
The central Israeli prison of Hadarim brought Sinwar together with prominent Palestinian leaders, including Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Saadat. The three formed a bond within the collective isolation unit.
They worked together, engaging in hunger strikes, formulating initiatives, and sending messages to the outside world. One of their most notable efforts was the "Prisoners' Covenant for National Reconciliation" in the spring of 2006, an attempt to bridge the divide between the two major Palestinian political factions, Fatah and Hamas.
Freedom and Military Development
After his release from prison under the 2011 prisoner exchange deal, Sinwar went on to strengthen his presence within the ranks of his movement and support his role within its two wings, especially the military wing, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
In 2012, Sinwar was elected as a member of the movement’s political bureau and immediately took over the communication file with the military wing.
During this phase, Sinwar began to play broader roles, relying on his strong relationship with the military, until the 2017 elections, from which he emerged as the head of the movement’s political bureau in Gaza.
Sinwar remained at the head of the movement in Gaza, until a new electoral entitlement that preceded October 7 by two years, from which he emerged once again as the leader of “Hamas” in Gaza.
During this period, he played prominent roles and focused “at an unprecedented pace in the movement’s history” on developing military work.
The man with the greatest influence
Sinwar is described as the man with the greatest influence in the Palestinian territories, according to the British magazine The Economist.
He was one of the first members of Hamas and helped form its own security apparatus, known by the acronym Majd.
The turning point in Sinwar’s career came when Israel negotiated a deal to exchange Palestinian prisoners in exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Hamas in 2011.
At that time, Israel used Sinwar as an interlocutor, according to The Economist, as he was allowed to speak to Hamas leaders who wanted to exchange more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Shalit.
Israel objected to a number of names proposed by Hamas, and Sinwar was not among those objected to.
In fact, in 2011, Sinwar was released and became a leader in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing.
After being elected in 2017 as head of the movement's political bureau in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar played a major diplomatic role in trying to mend relations between the Palestinian Authority led by the Fatah movement in the West Bank on the one hand, and the Hamas movement in Gaza on the other, but this attempt was not destined to succeed.
Sinwar also worked to re-evaluate Hamas's foreign relations, including improving relations with Egypt.
Head of the Battle
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, Sinwar has become a major headline for the Israeli military campaign on the Strip, and an image of the form of victory that the military and political establishments in Tel Aviv are pursuing behind its destructive war, with absolute American support.
Israel considers Sinwar to be the architect of Operation "Flood of Al-Aqsa" on October 7, 2023, which inflicted human and military losses on it and shook the image of its intelligence and security services before the world.
Israel had previously announced that his elimination was one of the goals of its current war on Gaza, which it called "Iron Swords".
Sinwar's writings
Sinwar is fluent in Hebrew and has written and translated many documents in the fields of politics and security.
Among his most prominent writings:
- The book "Glory", which he published during his detention in the occupation prisons, is a book that monitors the work of the "Shabak" apparatus.
- Translation of the book "Israeli Parties in 1992", a book that addresses the political parties in Israel during that period.
- The book "Hamas: Trial and Error", a book that deals with the experience of the Hamas movement and its development over time.
- A literary novel entitled "Clove Thorns", tells the story of the Palestinian struggle from 1967 until the Al-Aqsa Intifada.