Jihia al-Sinwar is considered the ruthless perpetrator of the Hamas massacre on October 7 and strictly rejects compromises with Israel. Now Hamas has appointed him as its de facto sole ruler.
The Islamist terrorist organization Hamas has surprisingly appointed the former Gaza chief Jihia al-Sinwar as the leader of the entire Palestinian group. Until now, the leadership of Hamas was divided between a chief for the Gaza Strip and one outside the coastal area. After the killing of Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya, Sinwar is also taking over his role. What impact will this step have on Israel and the situation of the people in the Gaza Strip?
Appointment of Sinwar shifts center of power
With Sinwar’s election, the center of power within Hamas has clearly shifted to the Gaza Strip. Unlike his predecessor Haniya, who led a life of luxury in Qatar as head of the Politburo, Sinwar has been in hiding since the Hamas massacre he commanded in the Israeli border region on October 7 last year. He is believed to be somewhere in the extensive network of tunnels beneath the blockaded coastal strip.
Sinwar acts as a lone wolf, all the more so since Israel has deliberately killed practically the entire Hamas leadership around him. He is at the top of the government in Jerusalem’s hit list: Immediately after the Hamas massacre, Israel had already described him as a “dead man walking”. The fact that he has so far managed to escape all attempts to kill him contributes to the creation of a legend among the Palestinian population.
His election as the overall Hamas leader would transform Hamas into a “one-man movement with a single vision,” wrote Israeli political expert Avi Issacharoff in the newspaper “Yediot Achronot.” For Sinwar, surviving the war and ensuring Hamas’s continued presence in power would already be a victory, despite the devastating destruction in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is moving in an even more radical direction
Sinwar, known as the “Butcher of Khan Yunis” for his murders of alleged Palestinian collaborators with Israel, is considered an ideological fanatic but a shrewd strategist. He is probably closer to Israel’s arch-enemy Iran than any other Hamas leader. While Haniya was still considered a realist with certain pragmatic considerations, Sinwar, born in 1962, is uncompromising in his approach.
“Now there is no one who would dare to contradict the all-powerful leader who sees himself as a savior and possible Palestinian messiah,” Issacharoff wrote. “In many ways, Hamas’ decision to appoint such an extremist is moving in an even more radical direction than before.”
With his actions since October 7, Sinwar has proven “that he is a dangerous man with the most radical views.” “He led Hamas into the most brutal and painful Gaza war to date and he was fully aware that he would sacrifice thousands of Palestinians on the altar of his vision.”
For Israeli expert Avi Melamed, the appointment of Sinwar as overall leader could harm Hamas’s efforts to survive the current war with Israel as an organization. It could also further reduce Hamas’ legitimacy on the international stage, says Melamed. Because by electing Sinwar, Hamas is ultimately clearly supporting his strategy of armed resistance and the crimes of October 7.
Sinwar’s appointment does not make agreement among Palestinians easier
In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague also requested an arrest warrant for Sinwar. He accused him – and the Hamas leaders Haniya and Mohammed Deif, who have since been killed – of crimes against humanity, including “extermination” as well as murder, hostage-taking, rape and torture.
Sinwar’s appointment is also likely to complicate efforts to bring about unity between the rival Palestinian organizations Hamas and Fatah, whose goal is to form a unity government to rule the Gaza Strip after the war. This, in turn, plays into the hands of the right-wing religious government in Israel, which is already trying to torpedo such attempts with all its might because it strictly opposes an independent Palestinian state.
Impact on Gaza ceasefire efforts
It is still uncertain how the concentration of all power in Sinwar’s hands will affect efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Even before Haniya’s killing, Sinwar was considered the “final authority” with regard to Hamas’s positions in the indirect negotiations with Israel, in which Qatar, Egypt and the USA are involved.
Since the start of negotiations on an exchange of more than a hundred hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinian prisoners, Sinwar has been relentless and has hardly budged from his positions. But the right-wing conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now also accused of torpedoing the talks for personal and domestic political reasons. In this respect, Sinwar’s appointment could help him to secure support for his demand for a “total victory” over Hamas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that whether an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza is reached now depends largely on Sinwar. He was already the key decision-maker before his appointment. “This only underscores the fact that it is really up to him to decide whether a ceasefire will be pushed forward.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
