HAMAS LEADERS: BIOGRAPHICAL AND POLITICAL DATA

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 000483 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MUSTAFA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2016 TAGS: ASEC IS KDEM KPAL KWBG PBTS PGOV PREL SUBJECT: HAMAS LEADERS: BIOGRAPHICAL AND POLITICAL DATA -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The incoming, newly elected Hamas PLC membership is a diverse and well-educated group. Some of the most prominent incoming PLC members bring with them administrative experience developed during the al-Aqsa Intifada, when Islamic charities and traditional reconciliation committees moved in to fill the void left by failing PA institutions. Many of the newly elected Hamas PLC members were deported by the IDF to Marj al-Zahoor/Lebanon in 1992 and allowed to return in 1994. Members of this group formed strong personal ties, connections to other Islamist political movements and a shared vision for a political program during the two years they spent camped in the buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Notably, the incoming class of Hamas PLC members is most closely linked with the social activist wing of the movement. -------------- KEY HAMAS FIGURES -------------- ¶2. (C) Ismail Hanniyah was the number one candidate on the Hamas list and is the moderate, public face of the Hamas Gaza leadership. He is reportedly the second most influential figure in Hamas (after Mahmud al-Zahar) in the West Bank and Gaza. Hanniyah served as chief of staff for Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. Interior Ministry contacts describe him as pragmatic, intelligent and moderate in his political and religious leanings. He has served as the leading Hamas coordinator on the National and Islamic Ad Hoc Committee in Gaza. The 56-year-old Hanniyah is a Marj al-Zahoor alumnus. ¶3. (C) Muhammad Abu Teir is a senior member of Hamas's political leadership in the West Bank. The 55-year-old was born in Jerusalem and remains a resident of the Jerusalem Hamas stronghold of Sur Baher. Reportedly a moderate on political issues, Abu Teir is known for his orientation towards social issues and religious conservatism. He delivers sermons in mosques around Jerusalem and has spent much of his adult life under Israeli detention. His henna-colored beard makes him an easily identifiable figure. ¶4. (C) Said Siyam is a PLC member from Gaza City and the primary spokesman for Hamas in Gaza. He is extremely media savvy and intelligent. PA Interior Ministry contacts report that he is involved in Hamas political strategy decision-making. Siyam was imprisoned by the IDF several times. Siyam is a Marj al-Zahoor alumnus. ¶5. (C) Mohammad Jamal al-Natsheh was number 4 on the Hamas national list and is a widely respected Hamas leader. Local observers consider him a hardliner on political and religious issues. His infrequent public statements are harsh even by Hamas standards. Al-Natsheh served as director of the Waqf, or Religious Affairs Department, in Hebron and as custodian of the al-Ibrahimi Mosque. Currently, al-Natsheh is under administrative detention by the IDF and he was also imprisoned several times during the first Intifada. He holds a BA in Shari'a and Islamic studies from Hebron University. ¶6. (C) Mahmud al-Zahar is a 60 year-old doctor in general medicine (graduated from Cairo's Ayn Shams University). Al-Zahar was number 9 on the Hamas national list, but is believed to be the most influential member of the Hamas political leadership in Gaza or the West Bank. Since the IDF killings of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and 'Abdal Aziz al-Rantisi, al-Zahar has emerged as the most senior member of the Hamas Gaza leadership. His frequent public statements emphasize militant activity to a greater degree than his Gaza colleagues Said Siyam and Ismail Hanniyah. An IDF missile strike killed al-Zahar,s son during a botched targeted killing attempt in September 2003. Al-Zahar is a Marj al-Zahoor alumnus. ¶7. (C) Hamed al-Bitawi is a PLC member from Nablus district and believed to be the most senior Hamas leader in the West Bank. Al-Bitawi is Head of the Scholars of Palestine League. Al-Bitawi is a former Muslim Brotherhood activist and co-founder of Hamas in the West Bank. He directs the Scholars of Palestine League, an influential Islamic think tank. Al-Bitawi serves as the Imam at the largest mosque in Nablus. He also heads the Hamas affiliated conciliation committee in the district. Al-Bitawi is a Marj al-Zahoor alumnus. ¶8. (C) Mahmud al-Ramahi is reputedly one of the most intelligent and popular figures from the Hamas national slate and will likely be a key leader in the Hamas government. He is a respected Ramallah-based doctor, serves on the boards of several Islamic charities and reportedly has a working knowledge of economics and finance. Interior Ministry contacts describe him as a Hamas moderate and senior member of the movement's West Bank leadership. ConGen contacts have repeatedly mentioned him as a potential minister. ¶9. (C) Muna Mansur is well-known Hamas women's leader. She was born in Nablus in 1962 and holds a degree in Physics from al-Najah University. She is involved with a variety of Islamic charities and has worked as a teacher in both the West Bank and Jordan. ¶10. (C) Musheer al-Masri was elected to the PLC from the North Gaza district. Local observers consider him a rising star of Hamas. Al-Masri was elected to the Beit Hanoun municipal council during the 2005 municipal elections. Al-Masri is a graduate of Islamic University in Gaza and is active in several Islamic charities. He was imprisoned several times during the 1990s. ¶11. (C) Dr. Aziz Duweik was elected from Hebron district. He holds a PhD in Urban Planning and Engineering. He is a popular Professor at al-Najah University and is a well-respected figure in the Hebron area. His academic background makes him a potential minister. ¶12. (C) Omar Mahmud 'Abd al-Razeq was elected as number 16 on the Hamas national list. Al-Razeq is a Salfit native and dean of the Economics Department at al-Najah University. With administrative experience and academic background in economics, Interior Ministry officials point to al-Razeq as a potentially influential figure in Hamas. He was arrested by the IDF in the lead-up to the elections and remains under administrative detention. ¶13. (C) Maryam Salih is a prominent Hamas women's leader. A resident of Ramallah, Salih holds a PhD in Shari,a from a Jordanian university. Salih is a professor at al-Quds University and has spent time living in Saudi Arabia. Salih is involved with al-Huda and Khalil al-Rahman charities. Ramallah contacts report that she is a popular professor at al-Quds University and a respected figure in her community. ¶14. (C) Khamis al-Najar is a PLC member elected from the Khan Yunis district and member of the Hamas Gaza leadership. Al-Najar is a doctor by training and has served as the Director General of the PA Ministry of Health in Gaza. His administrative experience makes him a potential Minister of Health. ¶15. (C) Dr. Salah al-Bardawil is a Khan Yunis based PLC member and professor at Islamic Univesity in Gaza. Al-Bardawil directs a Hamas-affiliated think tank named "National League of Culture and Thought." Al-Bardawil has a reputation for social activism. Gaza-based UN contacts describe him as an energetic and creative person. His public comments tend to be moderate. ¶16. (C) Hasan al-Bourini is a PLC member from Nablus. Al-Bourini is a high school teacher and serves as an Imam in Bourin village. He has been a prominent Hamas member in Nablus since the early 1980s. Al-Bourini is one of the more religiously oriented and socially conservative members of the Marj al-Zahoor group. ¶17. (C) Hasan Yousef is a Ramallah-based PLC member and member of the West Bank Hamas leadership. Yousef was a key Hamas spokesmen in the West Bank during the al-Aqsa Intifada. Reportedly, Yousef worked closely with Marwan Barguthi to organize protests and public demonstrations. Presently, Yousef is imprisoned by the IDF. WALLES