A new leader has been named for the Hamas organization in the Gaza Strip. Dr. Mahmoud A-Zahhar will replace ’Abd Al-‘Aziz A-Rantisi who was assassinated on April 17.
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Dr. Mahmoud A-Zahhar (Hamas website)
In the aftermath of the killing, just weeks after the Hamas spiritual leader Ahmad Yasin was also taken out, the movement’s political leader Khalid Mash’al resolved to protect the identity of the new leader in order to prevent further targeting by Israel.
However, many analysts quickly named Mahmoud Khalid A-Zahhar, a 53-year-old vocal Hamas leader in Gaza, who is often seen in the media.
Reports from Palestinian sources have now revealed that A-Zahhar has indeed replaced A-Rantisi, with Isma’il Haniyya serving as his deputy, and Sa’id A-‘Siam the third in line.
A-Zahhar was one of the founders of Hamas, along with Sheikh Yasin. He is married and has seven children, although one was killed in September 2003 during an attempt on A-Zahhar’s life.
A-Zahhar is a physician, born in Gaza to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother. He spent much of his early childhood in Egypt and later obtained a Bachelors degree in medicine at the ‘Ein Shams University in Cairo in 1971, followed by a Masters degree in surgery in 1976.
A-Zahhar headed the health society in Gaza between 1981 and 1985. He still heads the nursing department at the Islamic University in Gaza and lectures there.
In 1988, shortly after he assisted in founding Hamas (in 1987), A-Zahhar was arrested and imprisoned for six months in an Israeli jail during an extensive crackdown on the organization.
A-Zahhar was one of more than 400 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members expelled to the Marj A-Zuhour camp in southern Lebanon in 1992 and spent a year there. It was here that his counterpart in the organization, ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz A-Rantisi would become a prominent spokesman for the expellees, paving the way to his position as Hamas leader in Gaza 12 years later.
A-Zahhar also spent several months in a Palestinian prison in 1996 where it is said he was tortured and transferred to hospital in critical condition, according to the Hamas website.
He escaped an assassination attempt when Israeli aircraft targeted his house in Gaza in September 2003, a day after two terror attacks killed 15 Israelis in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. He emerged with mild wounds, but his eldest son Khalid was killed in the attack.
A-Zahhar is considered a moderate in Hamas and has backed the notion of a ten-year cease-fire with Israel. He is also considered more acceptable than his predecessor A-Rantisi to the Palestinian leadership, which has a history of friction with the Islamic movement. Nevertheless, he has been quoted supporting deadly terror attacks against Israelis.