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

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SUMMARY
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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.


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KEY HAMAS FIGURES
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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