Yahya Sinwar
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| “ | We have come out today and we will come out also in the next few days. Our people and our boys will surprise the entire world with what they have in store. Let them wait for our big push. We will take down the border and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies! | „ |
| ~ Yahya Sinwar's speech that incited the March of Return. |
Yahya Ibrahim Sinwar, also called Yehya Al-Sinwar (29 October 1962 – 16 October 2024) was the former leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and was considered the second most powerful person in Hamas after Ismail Haniyeh. Sinwar was designated was terrorist by the United States in 2015. He also briefly served as Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh until his own assassination in 2024.
Biography edit
Yahya Sinwar was born in a refugee camp in the city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. Following his graduation from school, he received a bachelor's degree in Arabic Studies from the Islamic University of Gaza.
In 1982, Sinwar's involvement with the Palestinian cause began when he was arrested by Israeli police for "subversive activities" and encountered future Hamas member Salah Shehade while in prison. He was arrested again in 1985 for an unknown crime, but was soon released. After his release, he helped to found the Palestinian organization Majd, which initially served to identify and kill Israeli spies but later became the security wing of Hamas when it was founded in 1987. A year later, Sinwar masterminded the killings of four Palestinians who collaborated with Israel and the kidnapping and murder of two Israeli soldiers. He was convicted on multiple charges of murder and sentenced to four life sentences in 1989, but was released in 2011 by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a prisoner exchange after spending 22 long years behind bars. Immediately after his release, Sinwar encouraged Hamas to kidnap more Israelis to force the government into releasing their imprisoned operatives.
Sinwar joined the political leadership of Hamas in 2013. His entry to the political bureau caused problems for Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, who reportedly struggled to maintain control because of Sinwar's even more extreme ideology, with Sinwar being one of the most hardline members and rejecting any cooperation with the more moderate government in the West Bank. For example, in 2016 Mashal ordered a halt to all smuggling operations on the Gaza-Egypt border as Hamas moved to reconcile with Egypt. Sinwar disobeyed him and continued operations on the border, as well as fostering ties with the local branches of the Islamic State and reportedly ordering terrorist attacks in Egypt. The Wall Street Journal reported that Sinwar's success exposed the group's political wing's failure to triumph over the military wing. Sinwar also advocated closer ties with Iran.
In 2017, Sinwar was elected head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip following Ismail Haniyeh's ascendance to overall leader. Kobi Michael, a former head of the Palestinian Desk at Israel’s Ministry for Strategic Affairs, told the Associated Press that Sinwar represents “one of the most radical and extreme lines of Hamas.” Shortly after his election, in 2018 Palestinian activists began protesting along the fence that separates Israel from Palestine. Sinwar whole heartedly endorsed the protests and called on Palestinians to "take down the border". Although the protests were mostly peaceful, there was some violence and six protestors were ultimately killed by the Israeli border guards. Sinwar praised those who were killed as martyrs, leading to speculation that he ordered them to attack the border. The demonstrations eventually ceased in 2019.
During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, when Palestine was struggling due to a lack of medical supplies to deal with the pandemic, Sinwar threatened Israel with a land war if they did not provide Palestine with medical supplies. He also said that he would "prevent six million Zionists from breathing", in a reference to the most commonly accepted number of Jews killed during the Holocaust. Later that year, Sinwar tested positive for COVID-19. In February 2021, he met with Qatari ambassador Mohammed al-Emadi and thanked him for Qatar's help in reconstructing Gaza.
On March 9 2021, it was falsely reported that Sinwar had been ousted by the more moderate Nizar Awadallah in an internal election. In reality, Awadallah won the first round of elections by five votes and, if he had won, would have seen Sinwar removed from the political bureau altogether for his actions in Egypt and refusal to cooperate with the West Bank. However, Sinwar narrowly defeated Awadallah in the second round, forcing Awadallah to concede the election.
In May 2021, Israeli police violently suppressed a protest outside Al-Asqa mosque in Jerusalem. Sinwar responded by ordering Hamas to open fire on Israel, leading to hundreds of missiles raining down on Israel and killing several civilains. Sinwar and his brother Mohammed were subsequently the subject of assassination attempts by the Israeli Defence Forces. The IDF bombed Sinwar's home and that of his brother as part of a controversial strategy known as "targeted killing". However, there were no reports of any deaths or injuries and Sinwar was soon revealed to be unharmed, leading to the Israeli Ministry of Defence warning Sinwar and other Hamas leaders that they would never stop going after them. Following the ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, Sinwar was seen visiting the family of deceased Hamas commander Bassem Issa, who was killed by the IDF. He has also warned that the missile launches were a "general rehearsal" and that he has thousands of operatives in Israel ready to carry out attacks.
Following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on 31 July 2024, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar as the new "overall leader" of the movement, as well as the new chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau. The announcement came after the Shura Council, the body that elects Hamas's politburo, voted unanimously to choose Sinwar as the new leader, in what was described by a Hamas official as a "message of defiance to Israel". He held this position for over 2 months until his own death on October 16, 2024.