Draft:Ismail Haniyeh

Ismail Haniyeh
Name	Ismail Haniyeh
Other Names	Ismail Abdelsalam Ahmed Haniyeh, Abu al-Abd
Personal Details
Birth Place	Al-Shati Refugee Camp, Gaza
Death Place	Tehran – assassinated by Israel hours after the inauguration ceremony of Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian
Religion	Islam

Ismail Haniyeh is a Palestinian politician and one of the senior political leaders of Hamas. He served as the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from March 29, 2006, to June 14, 2007. On June 14, 2007, amidst escalating clashes between Fatah and Hamas, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office; however, Haniyeh disregarded this order and continued to exercise prime ministerial authority in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Legislative Council continues to recognize his legitimacy. On May 6, 2017, he became the new head of the Hamas Political Bureau, succeeding Khaled Meshaal. He was martyred in a terrorist act carried out by the criminal Zionist regime at dawn on Wednesday, 25 Muharram 1446 AH.

Biography

Ismail Haniyeh, whose full name is Ismail Abdelsalam Ahmed Haniyeh and whose kunya is Abu al-Abd, was born on January 29, 1963, in the Al-Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza. His family's original home prior to displacement was the village of Al-Jura in Majdal Asqalan (Ashkelon, Israel), from which they became refugees during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Three of his sisters are Israeli citizens and have lived since the 1970s in the town of Tel as-Sabi in the Negev Desert. Several of Haniyeh's nephews have also served in the Israeli military.

Education

He completed his elementary and intermediate education at UNRWA schools in the Al-Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza. He finished his secondary education at the Al-Azhar Religious Institute in Gaza and enrolled in the Islamic University of Gaza in 1981, where he joined the university's Islamic Association. From 1983 to 1984, he served as a member of the university's student council, and from 1985 to 1986, he held the position of head of the student council. In 1987, he obtained a bachelor's degree in Arabic language from the Faculty of Education at the Islamic University of Gaza.

Struggles

Arrests

• First arrest: 18 days on December 24, 1987;
• Second arrest: 6 months on January 15, 1988;
• Third arrest: 3 years on May 18, 1989.

Exile

On December 17, 1992, he was exiled along with 415 leaders and activists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, as well as other senior Hamas politicians, to Marj al-Zuhur in southern Lebanon.

Failed Assassination Attempt

Ismail Haniyeh described the details of the failed assassination attempt against him as follows:

On September 6, 2003, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and I went to visit Dr. Marwan Abu Ras. While we were having lunch at his home, an F-16 fighter jet suddenly bombed the house. The ceiling collapsed, filling the area with smoke and dust. By the grace of God, we managed to escape the house, and God saved us along with Dr. Abu Ras's family.

His Position within Hamas

Following the release of Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, in 1997, Haniyeh was appointed as his chief of staff. In 2003, he became a target of the Israel Defense Forces due to allegations of involvement in attacks against Israeli citizens following a suicide bombing in Jerusalem. He also sustained minor hand injuries during an Israeli Air Force strike aimed at eliminating Hamas leadership. His standing within Hamas strengthened due to his close relationship with Yassin and the assassination of much of Hamas's leadership by Israeli security forces, granting him a prominent role during the Second Intifada. In December 2005, Haniyeh was elected head of the Hamas party list, which subsequently won the Legislative Council elections the following month.

Premiership

On February 16, 2006, following Hamas's victory under the "Change and Reform" list in the January 25, 2006 elections, Haniyeh was nominated as Prime Minister. His name was officially submitted to Mahmoud Abbas on February 20, and he took the oath of office on March 29, 2006.

Western Reactions

Following the 2006 elections in Palestine and Hamas's victory, Israel implemented a series of punitive measures, including economic sanctions against the Palestinian National Authority. Ehud Olmert, the acting Prime Minister of Israel, announced that Israel would no longer transfer approximately $50 million monthly in tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian National Authority. Haniyeh rejected these sanctions, declaring that Hamas would neither disarm nor recognize Israel. Expressing regret over the punitive actions taken against Hamas, he added that "a different response should have been given to the democracy expressed by the Palestinian people."

The Bush administration in the United States, which designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, demanded the return of $50 million in foreign aid funds provided to the Palestinian National Authority, a move agreed to by Mazen Sonokrot, the Palestinian Minister of Economy. Regarding the loss of foreign aid from the United States and the European Union, Haniyeh stated: "The West has always used its financial aid as a tool to pressure the Palestinian people."

Dismissal from the Prime Ministership

Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from the prime ministership on June 14, 2007, and appointed Salam Fayyad in his place. This occurred following actions by Hamas armed forces to seize control of positions held by the Palestinian Authority, which were under the control of armed militias of the Fatah movement and supported by the United States and Israel. Fayyad's appointment in place of Haniyeh has been challenged as illegal, since, according to the Palestinian Basic Law, the President of the Palestinian Authority may dismiss a prime minister but is not permitted to appoint a replacement without the approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Furthermore, until a new prime minister is appointed, the former prime minister remains responsible for overseeing the government. Fayyad's appointment had never previously been approved by the Legislative Council; for this reason, Haniyeh continued his activities in Gaza and is recognized by a large number of Palestinians as the legitimate acting prime minister. Anis al-Qasim, a Palestinian constitutional lawyer who drafted the Basic Law, is among those who publicly declared Fayyad's appointment illegal.

Activities

• Former Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic University of Gaza;
• Former Head of Administrative Affairs at the Islamic University of Gaza;
• Former Academic Director of the Islamic University of Gaza;
• Former Member of the Senate of the Islamic University of Gaza;
• Member of the Supreme Committee for Hamas Dialogue with other Palestinian groups and the Palestinian Authority;
• Member of the Supreme Follow-up Committee for the Intifada, representing Hamas;
• Chief of Staff to Sheikh Ahmed Yassin;
• Member of the Political Leadership of the Hamas Movement;
• Former Member of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Society of Gaza;
• President of the Islamic Society of Gaza Club for ten years.

Martyrdom

Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated around 2:00 AM by direct order of the criminal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hours after attending the inauguration ceremony of the President of Iran, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, he was martyred in a special residence for veterans in northern Tehran by a missile strike from the sky. This method of assassination has reinforced certain speculations regarding the assassination of the martyr Ayatollah Raisi and his accompanying team in the helicopter crash incident.

Funeral Procession

File:Prayer over the body of Ismail Haniyeh.jpg

On Thursday, August 1, 2024 (12 Mordad 1403 SH), in Tehran, funeral prayers were led by Supreme Leader Khamenei over the bodies of the martyr Ismail Haniyeh and the martyr Wassim Abu Shaaban, with public participation and the attendance of Arab and Islamic leaders who joined the funeral procession. Subsequently, the bodies of these two martyrs were transferred that afternoon to Doha, the capital of Qatar. After the Friday prayer in Doha, the funeral prayer was performed for them, and they were buried in the Imam al-Mu'assis Cemetery in Lusail.

Reactions

Message from Imam Khamenei

Message from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution following the martyrdom of the great mujahid, Mr. Ismail Haniyeh

The text of the Islamic Revolution Leader's message is as follows:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return." O dear people of Iran! The brave and distinguished Palestinian leader, Mr. Ismail Haniyeh, met his Lord in the early hours of last night, plunging the great front of resistance into mourning. The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our honored guest within our own home, inflicting grief upon us, yet thereby paving the way for its own severe punishment. The martyr Haniyeh held his precious life aloft for years in the field of honorable struggle, ever ready for martyrdom, and had dedicated his children and loved ones to this path. He feared not death in the way of God and the salvation of God's servants; however, in this bitter and grievous incident that occurred within the sanctity of the Islamic Republic, we consider it our duty to seek justice for his blood. I offer condolences to the Islamic Ummah, to the Resistance Front, to the brave and honorable nation of Palestine, and especially to the family and survivors of Martyr Haniyeh and one of his companions who was martyred alongside him, and I beseech Almighty God to grant them exalted ranks.

Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei 10 Mordad 1403, corresponding to 25 Muharram 1446

Message from the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, wrote on his personal account on the social media platform X: Today, dear Iran mourns its partner in sorrow and joy, its eternal and honorable companion on the path of resistance, the brave leader of the Palestine resistance, the Martyr of Al-Quds, Hajj Ismail Haniyeh. Yesterday, I raised his victorious hand, and today I must carry him on my shoulders in his funeral procession. The path of resistance and defense of the oppressed will be pursued more powerfully than ever. Iran will defend its territorial integrity, dignity, honor, and prestige, and will make the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act.

Message from the Secretary-General of Hezbollah Lebanon

The Secretary-General of Hezbollah Lebanon, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, at the beginning of his speech during the funeral ceremony for the body of Martyr Fouad Shukr, one of the senior commanders of Hezbollah killed in a terrorist attack by the enemy Zionist regime on Beirut, offered congratulations and condolences on the martyrdom of Martyr Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas, to this movement and the Martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah stated: "I offer congratulations and condolences on the martyrdom of our dear brother 'Ismail Haniyeh' to our brothers in Hamas and the Al-Qassam Brigades, to the Palestinian people, and to the Arab and Islamic Ummah. We share with Hamas in resistance and martyrdom, and we shall certainly attain victory".

Message from the Secretary-General of the Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Sects

According to a report by the Public Relations Office of the World Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Sects, Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Hamid Shariari, Secretary-General of the World Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Sects, offered condolences on the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas and the tireless mujahid of the Islamic Resistance Front.

The text of the message is as follows:

In the Name of the Lord of the Martyrs and the Truthful Template:Quran text

We offer condolences to the Islamic Ummah, to the mujahid and oppressed people of Palestine, to His Excellency the Supreme Leader, Imam Khamenei (may his shadow endure), and to all freedom-lovers and justice-seekers worldwide, especially the resilient and self-sacrificing family of this high-ranking martyr, on the martyrdom of the head of the political bureau of Hamas, Martyr Ismail Haniyeh (may God be pleased with him), the tireless mujahid of the Islamic Resistance Front. That mujahid martyr and standard-bearer of the liberation of Noble Jerusalem always stood in the path of freedom and justice against the project of domination by the America and the occupation by the savage Zionist regime, living throughout these years in anticipation of martyrdom. This terrorist and cowardly operation by the Zionist regime has further demonstrated to all the vile nature of this corrupt regime in trampling upon all international and human laws to achieve its illegitimate objectives. Let the criminal Zionists know that the pure blood of Martyr Haniyeh (may God be pleased with him) will further strengthen the resolve and determination of free nations and the steadfastness of resistance mujahideen in confronting global arrogance and the apartheid and usurper regime of the land of Palestine; and the fruit of the blood of the martyrs of resistance is nothing but the destruction of the usurper Zionist regime. The World Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Sects, while condemning the assassination of Martyr Ismail Haniyeh, emphasizes the continuation of support for the Islamic Resistance Front and decisive action by Muslim countries in international forums and courts to confront the Zionist regime, and God willing, vengeance for the blood of this great martyr will soon be taken from the Zionist leaders. With our deepest condolences and wishes for health and success in serving Islam for the honorable Haniyeh family, we beseech Almighty God to grant this martyred commander exalted ranks, mercy, and His vast pleasure.

Hamid Shariari Secretary-General of the World Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Sects

Awarding of the Islamic Human Rights Prize to Martyr Ismail Haniyeh

At the ceremony for the 8th Human Rights Islamic Prize, themed "Defending the Oppressed People of Palestine, the Axis of Resistance, and Confronting the Crimes of the Zionist regime," held in Tehran in the presence of the Head of the Judiciary, military and civilian officials, ambassadors from Islamic countries, and representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Dr. Khaled Qaddoumi received the Martyr Ismail Haniyeh prize on behalf of his family and the Hamas movement.

Notes

The Islamic Human Rights Prize is an international award in the Islamic Republic of Iran established by the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary. It is awarded to victims of human rights violations or to supporters and defenders of human rights. According to an announcement by this headquarters, information regarding 42 nominees from approximately 17 countries was received this year and reviewed by the committee for the Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Prize. Ultimately, six individuals were selected as laureates and three as honorees.

Gallery

• 
  Meeting with the Leader of Iran
• 
  Meeting with the President of Iran
• 
  Meeting with Hassan Nasrallah
• 
  Meeting with Ziyad al-Nakhalah
• 
  Alongside Khaled Mashal
• 
  Family of the martyr

See also

• Wassim Abu Shaaban
• Khaled Mashal
• Ahmed Yassin
• Palestine

References

• Who Was Ismail Haniyeh?, Watan News Agency, Date of publication: 10 Mordad 1403 SH, Date of access: 14 Mordad 1403 SH.
• "Abu al-Abd": Who Was Ismail Haniyeh?, Shargh Network, Date of publication: 10 Mordad 1403 SH, Date of access: 14 Mordad 1403 SH.
• Get to Know Martyr Haniyeh Better, Masjid Khabar, Date of publication: 10 Mordad 1403 SH, Date of access: 14 Mordad 1403 SH.
• Message of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Following the Martyrdom of the Great Mujahid Mr. Ismail Haniyeh, Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, Date of publication: 10 Mordad 1403 SH, Date of access: 14 Mordad 1403 SH.
• Pezeshkian's Warning Message Following the Martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, Donya-e-Eqtesad, Date of publication: 10 Mordad 1403 SH, Date of access: 14 Mordad 1403 SH.
• Sayyed Nasrallah: The Objective of the Majdal Shams Incident Was the Assassination of Resistance Leaders and Commanders / The Response Is Certain, IRNA News Agency, Date of publication: 11 Mordad 1403 SH, Date of access: 14 Mordad 1403 SH.
• Condolence Message from the Secretary-General of the World Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Sects Following the Martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, Mizan News Agency, Date of publication: 10 Mordad 1403 SH, Date of access: 14 Mordad 1403 SH.