Month: August 2024

Hamas on Tuesday announced that it had chosen Yahya Sinwar, who heads the movement inside the Gaza Strip, as the new leader of the group’s political bureau, following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh last month in Tehran.

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said that Sinwar was unanimously chosen as the new leader, reflecting the movement’s understanding of the current needs of the group. He added that Sinwar was always involved in the negotiations for a ceasefire with Israel.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement, succeeding the martyr Commander Ismail Haniyeh, may Allah have mercy on him,” Hamas said in a brief statement.

Sinwar, who was close to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and was known for founding the internal security bodies of Hamas, was previously sentenced by Israel to four life terms in the late 1980s.

Sinwar served 23 years for leading the group’s first internal security apparatus, Majd, which targeted and killed Palestinians it suspected of collaborating with Israel.

In 2011, he was freed along with 1,047 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Palestinian fighters in a cross-boundary raid in 2006.

Sinwar, a former commander of Hamas’s military wing, returned to his position as a prominent leader in Hamas and was elected as head of Hamas’s political office in Gaza in 2017, replacing Haniyeh who was serving in that position at the time.

In 2021, he was reelected to another four-year term as Hamas’s chief in Gaza.

The decision comes after Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on 31 July. Haniyeh had travelled to Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian, the new Iranian president, and was staying at a residence for war veterans where he was reportedly struck by a “projectile”.

Other Hamas leaders seen as potential replacements for Haniyeh were Khaled Meshaal, Khalil al-Hayya, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Mohammed Deif, and Marwan Issa.

Unlike Haniyeh, who spent the duration of the Israeli war on Gaza outside of the besieged enclave, Sinwar has been inside Gaza where he has been a continuous target of Israel’s military.

US officials who previously spoke with MEE said the US was expanding its search efforts for Sinwar across the region, after believing the 61-year-old was hiding in tunnels deep below Gaza.

In April, a Hamas official reportedly said that Sinwar had visited combat zones in Gaza above ground and was not always staying in tunnels. Middle East Eye could not independently verify this report.

An Israeli officer told Middle East Eye in May that Sinwar had become Israel’s number one target, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had abandoned efforts to rescue the Israeli hostages in Gaza and instead made pursuing Sinwar its main priority.

“Netanyahu’s operations in Gaza are fundamentally aimed at … hunting down Yahya Sinwar,” said the officer in Gaza, adding that the war had become “personal” for the Israeli leader.

Hamas on Tuesday announced that it had chosen Yahya Sinwar, who heads the movement inside the Gaza Strip, as the new leader of the group’s political bureau, following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh last month in Tehran.

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said that Sinwar was unanimously chosen as the new leader, reflecting the movement’s understanding of the current needs of the group. He added that Sinwar was always involved in the negotiations for a ceasefire with Israel.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement, succeeding the martyr Commander Ismail Haniyeh, may Allah have mercy on him,” Hamas said in a brief statement.

Sinwar, who was close to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and was known for founding the internal security bodies of Hamas, was previously sentenced by Israel to four life terms in the late 1980s.

Sinwar served 23 years for leading the group’s first internal security apparatus, Majd, which targeted and killed Palestinians it suspected of collaborating with Israel.

In 2011, he was freed along with 1,047 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Palestinian fighters in a cross-boundary raid in 2006.

Sinwar, a former commander of Hamas’s military wing, returned to his position as a prominent leader in Hamas and was elected as head of Hamas’s political office in Gaza in 2017, replacing Haniyeh who was serving in that position at the time.

In 2021, he was reelected to another four-year term as Hamas’s chief in Gaza.

The decision comes after Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on 31 July. Haniyeh had travelled to Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian, the new Iranian president, and was staying at a residence for war veterans where he was reportedly struck by a “projectile”.

Other Hamas leaders seen as potential replacements for Haniyeh were Khaled Meshaal, Khalil al-Hayya, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Mohammed Deif, and Marwan Issa.

Unlike Haniyeh, who spent the duration of the Israeli war on Gaza outside of the besieged enclave, Sinwar has been inside Gaza where he has been a continuous target of Israel’s military.

US officials who previously spoke with MEE said the US was expanding its search efforts for Sinwar across the region, after believing the 61-year-old was hiding in tunnels deep below Gaza.

In April, a Hamas official reportedly said that Sinwar had visited combat zones in Gaza above ground and was not always staying in tunnels. Middle East Eye could not independently verify this report.

An Israeli officer told Middle East Eye in May that Sinwar had become Israel’s number one target, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had abandoned efforts to rescue the Israeli hostages in Gaza and instead made pursuing Sinwar its main priority.

“Netanyahu’s operations in Gaza are fundamentally aimed at … hunting down Yahya Sinwar,” said the officer in Gaza, adding that the war had become “personal” for the Israeli leader.

Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for US president, on Tuesday confirmed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be her running mate in the upcoming November election against Republican opponent Donald Trump.

“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate,” Harris said on Twitter, making the announcement ahead of a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his.”

The choice to bring in Walz comes after Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro had been seen as a top choice for the Harris camp. Shapiro has been heavily criticised in recent weeks for his volunteer service on an Israeli army base and for comparing pro-Palestinian student protesters to the Ku Klux Klan.

Walz, who is lauded for his progressive views and his pro-labour stances, has appeared to straddle the line between maintaining a clear pro-Israel policy stance while not drawing the ire of some pro-Palestine progressives.

While serving in Congress, he was a reliable cosponsor for a number of pro-Israel measures, including one in favour of renewing a 10-year memorandum to send billions of dollars in US military aid to Israel.

He has also previously met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was notably not on the list of 58 Democrats who skipped Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in 2015.

The Walz pick was celebrated by pro-Israel groups, including the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI).

“Not only is Governor Walz an accomplished and beloved leader in the state of Minnesota, having been elected six times to the House of Representatives and twice to the governorship, but he is also a proud pro-Israel Democrat with a strong record of supporting the US Israel relationship,” Mark Mellman, a chair of DFMI, said in a statement.

“As governor, he has been a steadfast supporter of the pro-Israel community in Minnesota.”

Over the past few months, the governor has appeared to show more openness to hearing the demands of protesters demonstrating against the war on Gaza, as contrasted to Pennsylvania’s Shapiro who compared the student protesters to the KKK and condemned UPenn for not doing enough to quell the protests.

When the Uncommitted Campaign – an electoral campaign calling on the Democratic Party to call for a ceasefire in Gaza – racked up 19 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election earlier this year, Walz applauded the voters for being “civically engaged”.

“Governor Walz has demonstrated a remarkable ability to evolve as a public leader, uniting Democrats diverse coalition to achieve significant milestones for Minnesota families of all backgrounds,” Elianne Farhat, a senior advisor for the Uncommitted Campaign, said in a statement.

But given his voting record and ties to pro-Israel groups, it’s unclear whether Walz would move the needle in terms of one of the main demands of pro-Palestinian voters: the end to US military aid to Gaza and divestment from companies complicit in the war on Gaza and in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.

Pro-Palestine protesters have been demanding that the state of Minnesota divest its financial stakes in Israeli companies and bonds, which they say are worth around $119m.

Activists have also for years been urging the state to repeal its anti-boycott legislation, which forces state contractors to sign a pledge that they will not engage in a boycott of Israel. The law was first passed in 2017, prior to Walz becoming governor.

However, he has made no moves to try to repeal the law.

In December, a group of 1,000 Palestinian solidarity activists in Minnesota disrupted Walz’s Christmas party, demanding the governor commit to divesting from Israel.

“Governor Walz has ignored our calls for the divestment of taxpayer dollars and public pension funds from Israeli apartheid. But he will never stop hearing from us or seeing us until he finally ends Minnesota’s complacency in genocide,” Christine Hauschildt of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee said back in December.

Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for US president, on Tuesday confirmed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be her running mate in the upcoming November election against Republican opponent Donald Trump.

“I am proud to announce that I’ve asked @Tim_Walz to be my running mate,” Harris said on Twitter, making the announcement ahead of a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“As a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he’s delivered for working families like his.”

The choice to bring in Walz comes after Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro had been seen as a top choice for the Harris camp. Shapiro has been heavily criticised in recent weeks for his volunteer service on an Israeli army base and for comparing pro-Palestinian student protesters to the Ku Klux Klan.

Walz, who is lauded for his progressive views and his pro-labour stances, has appeared to straddle the line between maintaining a clear pro-Israel policy stance while not drawing the ire of some pro-Palestine progressives.

While serving in Congress, he was a reliable cosponsor for a number of pro-Israel measures, including one in favour of renewing a 10-year memorandum to send billions of dollars in US military aid to Israel.

He has also previously met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was notably not on the list of 58 Democrats who skipped Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in 2015.

The Walz pick was celebrated by pro-Israel groups, including the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI).

“Not only is Governor Walz an accomplished and beloved leader in the state of Minnesota, having been elected six times to the House of Representatives and twice to the governorship, but he is also a proud pro-Israel Democrat with a strong record of supporting the US Israel relationship,” Mark Mellman, a chair of DFMI, said in a statement.

“As governor, he has been a steadfast supporter of the pro-Israel community in Minnesota.”

Over the past few months, the governor has appeared to show more openness to hearing the demands of protesters demonstrating against the war on Gaza, as contrasted to Pennsylvania’s Shapiro who compared the student protesters to the KKK and condemned UPenn for not doing enough to quell the protests.

When the Uncommitted Campaign – an electoral campaign calling on the Democratic Party to call for a ceasefire in Gaza – racked up 19 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election earlier this year, Walz applauded the voters for being “civically engaged”.

“Governor Walz has demonstrated a remarkable ability to evolve as a public leader, uniting Democrats diverse coalition to achieve significant milestones for Minnesota families of all backgrounds,” Elianne Farhat, a senior advisor for the Uncommitted Campaign, said in a statement.

But given his voting record and ties to pro-Israel groups, it’s unclear whether Walz would move the needle in terms of one of the main demands of pro-Palestinian voters: the end to US military aid to Gaza and divestment from companies complicit in the war on Gaza and in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands.

Pro-Palestine protesters have been demanding that the state of Minnesota divest its financial stakes in Israeli companies and bonds, which they say are worth around $119m.

Activists have also for years been urging the state to repeal its anti-boycott legislation, which forces state contractors to sign a pledge that they will not engage in a boycott of Israel. The law was first passed in 2017, prior to Walz becoming governor.

However, he has made no moves to try to repeal the law.

In December, a group of 1,000 Palestinian solidarity activists in Minnesota disrupted Walz’s Christmas party, demanding the governor commit to divesting from Israel.

“Governor Walz has ignored our calls for the divestment of taxpayer dollars and public pension funds from Israeli apartheid. But he will never stop hearing from us or seeing us until he finally ends Minnesota’s complacency in genocide,” Christine Hauschildt of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee said back in December.