Who Is Ismail Haniyeh? Hamas Leader Behind Attacks on Israel

Ismail Haniyeh, the widely recognised leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, has long been a polarising figure in the political arena. Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, firing a salvo of rockets and sending its fighters on Saturday, October 7. Over 1,500 have died on both sides in the war.

Who Is Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh?

• Ismail Haniyeh was born on January 29, 1962, in the Al-Shāṭiʾ refugee camp in Gaza Strip. He is a Palestinian politician and a prominent leader of Hamas. 
• Haniyeh received his primary education in institutions managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
• He started studying Arabic literature at the Islamic University of Gaza in 1981. He was also a prominent figure in a student association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, participating actively in student politics.
• In 1988, Haniyeh was arrested by Israeli authorities for joining the first uprising against Israeli control, also known as the first intifada. He spent six months in jail and was arrested again in 1989 and remained in prison until 1992 when Israel deported him and about 400 other Islamists to south Lebanon. The first Intifada began in 1987 and lasted till 1993, the uprising against Israeli occupation of West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem witnessed massive protests and even suicide bombings. 
• Ismail Haniyeh's political journey includes serving as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) from 2006 to 2007, a tenure that began after Hamas secured a suprising majority of seats in the 2006 Palestinian legislative council elections.
• He took on the role of leading the de facto government in Gaza from 2007 to 2014 after an internal strife with rival Fatah, which now governs in West Bank, leading to the disbandment of the government and the formation of an independent Hamas-led administration in the Gaza Strip. Later, in 2017, he was appointed to take over from Khaled Meshaal as the head of Hamas's political bureau.