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Fathi Hamad

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Fathi Ahmad Hamad
فتحي أحمد حماد
Interior Minister of Gaza Strip
In office
April 2009 – June 2014
Preceded bySaid Seyam
Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council
In office
2006–?
Personal details
Born (1961-01-03) 3 January 1961 (age 63)
Beit Lahia, Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip
Political partyHamas
Children1

Fathi Ahmad Hamad (Arabic: فتحي أحمد حماد, also spelled Fathi Hammad; born 3 January 1961) is a Palestinian politician and member of the Hamas political bureau. He was Interior Minister in the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip from 2009 to 2014.

Biography

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In 1983, Hammad joined the Muslim Brotherhood. He is the founder and Vice President of Dar Al Quran.[1]

From 1988 to 1994, Hamad was in Israeli prison. He was also arrested three times by the Palestinian Authority and spent 2 years in Palestinian jails.[2]

Hamad became a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006, representing his home town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. He also leads the Hamas Public Affairs Department and the chairman of al-Ribat Communications and Artistic Productions[3] - a Hamas-run company which produces Hamas's radio station, Al-Aqsa Voice Radio, its television station, Al-Aqsa TV and its bi-weekly newspaper, The Message.[4][5] Under his direction, the station broadcast children's show Tomorrow's Pioneers, which received heavy criticism for its antisemitic and Islamist content. Hamad defended the contents of the show, stating "it does not violate any moral or professional standard."[6]

In April 2009, Hamad was appointed Interior Minister in the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip, replacing Said Seyam who had been assassinated by Israel during the 2008-09 Gaza War.[4][7] He ceased being Interior Minister in June 2014 on the formation of the Fatah-Hamas unity government. [citation needed] According to the United States, Hamad used his position as interior minister to "coordinate terrorist cells."[8]

In November 2009, Waad, a Gaza charity headed by Hamad, offered a $1.4 million bounty to any Arab citizen of Israel who abducts an Israeli soldier. While Palestinian militant groups have frequently called on Arab-Israelis to capture soldiers, this marked the first time money had been offered.[9]

In September 2016, the U.S. Department of State named Hamad a Specially Designated Terrorist, outlawing U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with him and freezing his assets in areas under U.S. jurisdiction.[10][8] The designation named Hamad as the founder and director of Hamad's Al-Aqsa TV, which the U.S. said aired "programs designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers." In response, Hamad told the Washington Post that he "was proud that I managed to anger America."[2]

He provides funding and military instruction to the West Bank branch of Hamas, founded by prisoners released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. According to Palestinian officials, Hamad was behind a cell planning suicide bombings and other attacks in Abu Dis.[8]

Views

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Hamad is viewed in Gaza as a powerful, but extreme, loose cannon, who operates independently of and kept at arm's length by Hamas. He is well known as one of the most radical figures in Hamas.[2][8] Hamad was a central figure opposing reconciliation with the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

A speech made by Hamad, broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV in February 2008, has been used as evidence by Israel and others that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups make use of human shields.[11][12][13][14] In an interview which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on 14 December 2010 (as translated by MEMRI), Hamad stated that Hamas receives support.[15]

In a speech broadcast on Egyptian Al-Helma TV on 23 March 2012, Hamad condemned Egypt over the fuel shortage in the Gaza Strip, and stated, "Half of the Palestinians are Egyptians and the other half are Saudis."[16]

In March 2018, it was reported that Hamad is a senior Hamas official who opposes reconciliation with Fatah, and urges a resumption of war against Israel. He has been implicated in the assassination attempt on prime minister Rami Hamdallah.[17][18]

Controversies

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In July 2019, Hamad urged members of the Palestinian diaspora to kill "Jews everywhere". His comments were characterized as incitement to genocide by Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America[19] and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.[20] His rhetoric was widely condemned by other Palestinians and he later stated that he supports the Hamas policy of "limiting its resistance to the Zionist occupation that usurps Palestine’s land and defiles its holy sites".[21][22] The deliberate killing of civilians is nonetheless prohibited in Islamic law.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Fathi Hammad - Who is Fathi Ahmad Hammad?". www.webgaza.net.
  2. ^ a b c Balousha, Hazem (18 September 2016). "Palestinian leader says he is proud to be branded a 'global terrorist' by U.S." Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Hamas Expands Reach Through Media". Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b Hamas officially announces Fathi Hamad new Interior Minister. Palestinian Press, 27 April 2009
  5. ^ Johnson, Alan (15 May 2008). "Hamas and antisemitism". The Guardian. London.
  6. ^ al-Mughrabi, Nidal (9 August 2007). "Hamas TV airs anti-Israel kids show despite protest". Reuters.
  7. ^ New Hamas cabinet approved by lawmakers. Ma'an, 27 August 2012
  8. ^ a b c d "US designates senior Hamas official a 'global terrorist'". Times of Israel. AFP.
  9. ^ "Hamas-linked group offers cash reward for capture of IDF soldiers". Haaretz. Associated Press. 20 November 2009.
  10. ^ "Blacklisted Hamas official: US shows 'total bias' for Israel". www.timesofisrael.com.
  11. ^ "Video: Hamas uses civilians as a means to achieving military goals". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 11 January 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  12. ^ Landes, Richard (December 2009). "Goldstone's Gaza Report: Part One: A Failure of Intelligence". Middle East Review of International Affairs. 13 (4). Global Research in International Affairs Center (GLORIA). Archived from the original on 13 April 2010.
  13. ^ Itamar Marcus, Barbara Crook and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (16 September 2009). "Eye-witnesses: Hamas used human shields in Gaza war". Palestinian Media Watch. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  14. ^ Alan M. Dershowitz (16 September 2009). "UN Investigation of Israel Discredits Itself and Undercuts Human Rights". Hudson New York. Hudson Institute. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  15. ^ Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad: The Americans and the Jews Are Abhorred Worldwide; The Americans Are Led by the Jews, "Outcasts Who Live Off Corruption and Plundering", MEMRITV, 14 December 2010, Clip No. 2734.
  16. ^ Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security Fathi Hammad Slams Egypt over Fuel Shortage in Gaza Strip, and Says: "Half of the Palestinians Are Egyptians and the Other Half Are Saudis," Memritv Clip 3389, http://www.memri.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3389.htm, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAfENxzv2mc
  17. ^ Toameh, Khaled Abu. "Abbas condemns 'murderous terror attack' on PA convoy". www.timesofisrael.com.
  18. ^ Issacharoff, Avi. "Something is rotten in the terrorist kingdom of Hamas". www.timesofisrael.com.
  19. ^ "Guardian, Independent and Telegraph ignore Hamas official's call for genocide > CAMERA UK". CAMERA UK. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  20. ^ "'A Fatwa for Genocide' – Wiesenthal center slams Hamas charter". The Jerusalem Post. 14 July 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020. The Simon Wiesenthal Center slammed Hamas in a press release on Sunday, pointing out that the terrorist group's charter contains "a Fatwa for genocide" and the statement by senior Hamas official Fathi Hammad, who called on Palestinians living around the world to "go out and slaughter and kill Jews."
  21. ^ Rasgon, Adam. "Hamas official walks back call to Palestinian Diaspora to kill 'Jews everywhere'". Times of Israel. Retrieved 16 July 2019. But our brothers [in the diaspora] are still preparing. They are trying to prepare. They are warming up. A long time has passed with them warming up. All of you 7 million Palestinians abroad, enough of the warming up. You have Jews everywhere and we must attack every Jew on the globe by way of slaughter and killing, if God permits. Enough of the warming up
  22. ^ "Hamas official calls on Palestinians abroad to kill Jews". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  23. ^ Aly, Heba (24 April 2014). "The New Humanitarian | Islamic law and the rules of war". www.thenewhumanitarian.org. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
Preceded by Interior Minister of Gaza Strip
April 2009 – June 2014 		Succeeded by
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