On 31st July, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas confirmed that their chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran. He was killed in an Israeli air strike on his house. His three sons, Hazem, Amir and Mohammad, along with a number of his grandchildren, were killed in an Israeli attack in April this year.
Haniyeh was killed months after Israel vowed to destroy Hamas following the bloody October 7 terror attacks that resulted in the deaths of over 1,300 Israelis and the abduction of hundreds of others, prompting the Netanyahu government to launch an all-out war against the terror network controlling the Gaza Strip.
However, with the assassination of Haniyeh, which is attributed to Israel, the Jewish nation has reached an important milestone in the war effort that has dragged on for over 9 months now, leaving thousands dead and the terror network’s infrastructure critically damaged.
Origin of Hamas
Hamas, short for “Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya” (Islamic Resistance Movement), was established in 1987. It was an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza. In the beginning, the Muslim Brotherhood was relatively moderate. However, with the evolution of Hamas, it turned into a radical Islamist organisation. The full name of the Palestinian terrorist organisation translates to the “Islamic Resistance Movement”.
In its founding documents, specifically in the Hamas Charter published on 18th August 1988, the group emphasised jihad and the establishment of an Islamic state from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. From the charter, came the infamous murderous slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. The ultimate goal of the terrorist organisation is the destruction of Israel.
History of Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Abdel Salam Ahmed Haniyah was born on 29th January 1963. He rose to prominence within Hamas in the 1990s as with his close links to the organisation’s co-founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. In 2006, Hamas won a parliamentary majority in the Palestine elections and Haniyeh was appointed Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA). He remained one of the top leaders of Hamas for two decades.
Control over Gaza
In 2007, there were violent clashes in Fatah after which Hamas took full control of Gaza. Following the clashes, he was dismissed by then-President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abaas. However, Haniyeh continued to act as the Prime Minister of the Hamas-controlled Gaza. Since then, he has been a leading public representative of Hamas from within Gaza.
Between 2014 to 2017, Haniyeh served as the deputy leader of Hamas. On 6th May 2017, he was elected as the chief of the political wing of Hamas. The idea was to soften his extremist image in the public. Though his title was limited to the political wing, his influence extended beyond political matters and often shadowed the decisions made by the armed wings of Hamas. Under his leadership, the lines between political wing and military wings faded consistently.
Designation as a Terrorist
In January 2018, the United States Department of State deemed him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist because of his close links with the armed wing of Hamas and his advocacy for armed struggle, including against the civil population of Israel.
The 31st January 2018 release by the State Department read, “Ismail Haniyeh is the leader and President of the Political Bureau of Hamas, which was designated in 1997 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and in 2001 as an SDGT. Haniyeh has close links with Hamas’ military wing and has been a proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians. He has reportedly been involved in terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. Hamas has been responsible for an estimated 17 American lives killed in terrorist attacks.”
Along with him, Harakat al-Sabireen, Liwa al Thawra, and Harakat Sawa’d Misr (HASM) were also designated as terrorists or terrorist organisations. The release further read, “Today’s actions notify the U.S. public and the international community that Ismail Haniyeh, Harakat al-Sabireen, Liwa al-Thawra, and Harakat Sawa’d Misr have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism. Terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of U.S. agencies and other governments.”
Crimes Committed by Ismail Haniyeh
Under Heniyeh’s leadership, Hamas has been involved in widespread and systematic crimes against humanity including murder, imprisonment and torture of civilians in Gaza. The acts of terrorism were not isolated incidents but part of a deliberate campaign to ensure Hamas maintained control over Gaza and suppress political dissent.
The 2014 Gaza conflict
In 2014, clashes took place in Gaza often known as the 2014 Gaza Conflict or Operation Protective Edge. During the conflict, Haniyeh-led Hamas carried out a brutal campaign of abduction, torture and unlawful killings against the people of Palestine who were accused of collaborating with Israel. As per reports, Hamas terrorists tortured and summarily executed the people of Palestine during this period which amounted to war crimes.
According to the information available from the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, Haniyeh played a vital role in crafting extremist ideology. He did not prevent Hamas terrorists from committing war crimes during the 2014 war and actively encouraged and funded their war crimes. The civilians were used as “human shields” during the 2014 war. Hamas consistently fired rockets and mortars from densely populated areas making the civilians potential military targets. They stored weapons in schools, hospitals, mosques and other civilian structures.
Notably, Hamas used rockets during the war that were prohibited under international laws. The missiles were not easy to control and therefore could not accurately fire at lawful military targets putting civilian areas at risk. The modus operandi of Hamas continued to be the same in the Israel-Hamas war that broke after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7th October 2023.
Targeted Killings
Under Haniyeh, Hamas also executed several individuals accused of “espionage” and “collaborating with Israel”. In April 2017, Hamas executed three men in Gaza claiming they provided information to Israel that led to the deal of Palestinian terrorists. The execution of three men was part of a broader pattern of using extreme measures to ensure fear is implicated among the population eliminating the possible threats to the authority of Hamas in the region.
Continued abuse of power
Under Haniyeh’s leadership, the abuses of power continued beyond the 2014 conflict. Several organisations documented cases of arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings. His administration was accused of using the justice system and security apparatus to suppress political opponents and silence dissent.
Ismail Haniyeh was wanted by the International Criminal Court
In May this year, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he would seek an arrest warrant against Ismail Haniyeh. He accused him and other Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity about the 7th October 2023 terrorist attack.
In his appeal, ICC Prosecutor Karim AA Khan accused Haniyeh of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Israel and Palestine, particularly in Gaza from 7th October 2023. Haniyeh, along with Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif were accused by the prosecutor of extermination, murder, hostage-taking, sexual violence, torture, and other inhumane acts. The evidence submitted against Heniyah included interviews with survivors, CCTV footage, authenticated media and statements from the members of Hamas. He asserted that Heniyah and others planned and instigated those crimes and emphasised their involvement and responsibility.
Ismail Haniyeh’s tenure as PA of Hamas was marked with severe human rights violations and crimes against humanity. His leadership oversaw a regime that employed violence and terror to ensure Hamas maintained control over Gaza and targeted political opponents while perceiving extreme measures.
