Hamas has named a top member of its armed wing as its new leader in the Gaza Strip, an official confirmed last night, placing one of the Islamic militant group’s most hard line figures in charge of operations in its power base.
The appointment of Yehiya Sinwar, a senior commander who was freed by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap, solidifies the takeover of Hamas’ Gaza operations by the group’s armed wing.
The militarised wing, which controls thousands of fighters and a vast arsenal of rockets, has battled Israel in three wars since Hamas took control of Gaza a decade ago.
A Hamas official confirmed Mr Sinwar’s selection. He replaces Ismail Haniyeh, who served as the prime minister of Hamas’ government following the 2007 takeover of Gaza.
Mr Haniyeh is now expected to take over as Hamas’ supreme leader, replacing Khaled Mashaal, who lives in exile. Khalil al-Haya, another political hardliner, was elected as Mr Sinwar’s deputy.
Hamas started its elections late last year and the entire process is expected to be completed within the next two months, when a new political bureau is to be confirmed.
Mr Sinwar, who is in his mid-50s, is a founder of Hamas’ military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. The armed group is sworn to Israel’s destruction and has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, shootings and other attacks. In September 2015, Mr Sinwar was added to the US terrorism blacklist alongside two other members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
A graduate in Arabic, he was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza and founded Majd, one of Hamas’s intelligence services.
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