Hard-line Terrorist Elected as New Hamas Leader

February 14, 2017

by: Ilse Posselt

Tuesday, 14 February 2017 | He is a self-confessed murderer with multiple convictions for brutally killing Palestinians. He is the architect behind a number of terror attacks, a volatile hard-line extremist who earned himself a spot on the United States’ terrorism blacklist in 2015. After serving part of a life sentence in an Israeli prison, he was released in 2011 as part of the prisoner swap to free kidnapped Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. And now, Yehya Sinwar has been elected to lead Hamas into what Israelis dread could be an era of intensified violence, terror and war against the Jewish state.

A Hamas official announced yesterday that Sinwar had been picked to head up the terror group ruling over the people of Gaza. The 55-year-old terrorist takes over the reins from current Gaza leader, Ismail Haniyah, who is allegedly running for the leadership of Hamas’s political bureau. Hamas’s current political bureau head, Khaled Mashaal, announced recently that he would be stepping down.

Sinwar’s curriculum vitae of terror, murder and bloody mayhem is an extensive one. Born in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip into a family of radical fighters, he was the founding fathers of the notorious al-Majd, the brutal intelligence wing of Hamas’s military unit. Sinwar was sentenced to serve four life sentences in an Israeli prison for executing a number of Palestinians accused of collaborating with the Jewish state. Moreover, Sinwar seemed to take tremendous pride in the manner in which he executed his victims. During the 1980s, he went by the nickname, “The Man of the Twelve” in reference to the 12 Palestinians he boasted of killing with his bare hands. According to The Times of Israel, the number is sure to have increased over the past 30 years.

While incarcerated, he continued to act as the mastermind behind various terror attacks against Israel. Then, 22 years into his prison sentence, Sinwar was released as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal.

At the time of his release, The Times of Israel called Sinwar the “most senior prisoner released and clearly destined for leadership.” In the six years since his return to Gaza, he has earned a name as one of Hamas’s most radical and ruthless members, orchestrating various arrests, torture and executions, including that of a senior member of Hamas’s military wing. During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Sinwar also served as one of the main military leaders.

Sinwar spent the past few years amassing and consolidating political power in Hamas and even though he is not the head of the terror group’s military or political wing, many regard him as the strongest man in the Strip.

The official website for Hamas’s military wing sports a profile for the new Gaza leader, describing him as “silent, active and [possessing] a unique ability to dialogue and persuade people to revert back to Islam as a way of life.”

Dr. Kobi Michael, a senior research fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told The Times of Israel that Sinwar “represents the most radical and extreme line of Hamas.”

“He is affiliated with Iran,” The Times of Israel quoted Michael as saying. “He is supported by Iran. And he prefers the Iranian axis and the cooperation with ISIS in Sinai. I think that the idea that he was elected is something that indicates … winning of the extremist and the radical line in Hamas.”

There seems to be no doubt that the newly elected leader of Hamas in Gaza will continue to fulfill the organization’s charter to bring about the demise of the Jewish state. It is also widely accepted that he is a rigid extremist—even in comparison to other role-players in Hamas—has little regard for human life and an appetite for violence. Yet what makes Sinwar particularly dangerous, The Times of Israel claims is his unpredictability.

Nothing about Sinwar’s future leadership bodes well for the Jewish state. In fact, according to Israeli lawmakers, the election reveals Hamas’s true intention which is to prepare for the next time the terror organization takes Israel on in battle.

“The hardliners, the supporters of extremism and militant actions are leading Hamas,” said former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) director and Member of Knesset (Israeli government) Yaakov Peri. “They will focus their activities on preparations to the next round [of war] with Israel.”

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman and also a former Shin Bet director, Member of Knesset, Avi Dichter, added “Hamas leadership sees the world through the rockets, the tunnels and the attacks on Israel…”

Sinwar’s appointment, he warned, meant that the Jewish state should prepare for a future confrontation with Hamas earlier than originally anticipated.

Posted on February 14, 2017

Source: (Bridges for Peace, 14 February 2017)

Photo Credit: Public Domain/ Wikipedia

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