Sinwar ascends as Israelis scan the skies

Muhammad Amin

Israeli media are noting with horror Wednesday Hamas has replaced assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh with Yahya Sinwar, the man they’ve branded as “the architect of October 7”.
There’s only one story more important to them today – headlines flashing that “Iran may rethink Israel attack plans amid intense US diplomatic efforts”.
They’re hoping against hope they’ll be able to escape the noose once again.
But Sinwar’s elevation is a cold slap in the face. It remains to be seen if he’ll replace Haniyeh as chief negotiator in ceasefire talks.
Sinwar and the Israelis know each other very well – he’s spent 23 years in Israeli jails and is currently directing resistance operations from the ground in Gaza. Tel Aviv has a $400 000 bounty on his head.
Former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman is disgusted with the outcome. The only reason Sinwar still breathes is because “Israel does not want to engage in military adventurism”, he’s told the Times of Israel Wednesday.
As though Israel has not thrown the rule book out the window as it has rained down all kinds of “adventurism” in Gaza for 306 days now, eagerly looking for a chance to take Sinwar’s life.
An Israeli officer told Middle East Eye in May “that Sinwar had become Israel’s number one target, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had abandoned efforts to rescue the Israeli hostages in Gaza and instead made pursuing Sinwar its main priority.
“Netanyahu’s operations in Gaza are fundamentally aimed at … hunting down Yahya Sinwar,” said the officer in Gaza, adding that the war had become “personal” for the Israeli leader.
Hamas said late Tuesday: “After in-depth and extensive consultations and deliberations in our leadership institutions, brother leader Yahya Sinwar was chosen as head of the political bureau.”
“We express our confidence in our brother Abu Ibrahim as the leader of the movement at a sensitive stage and complex local, regional, and international circumstances.”
Middle East Eye reports Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said Sinwar was unanimously chosen, reflecting the movement’s understanding of the current needs of the group. He added that Sinwar was always involved in the negotiations for a ceasefire with Israel.
Al Mayadeen reports his second name, Al-Sinwar, translates to “the fisherman” or “the maker of fishing hooks” as he hails from the coastal city of Askalan, which was a major fishing community before being displaced by Zionist militias.
He was born in Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza to parents who were displaced during the 1948 Nakba and became actively involved politics from a young age. While earned a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic Studies from the Islamic University of Gaza.
He was arrested at 19 for anti-Zionist revolutionary activity and his months in prison forged connections with other activists.
Arrested in 1985 he met Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the founder and leader of Hamas, and this connection would pave the way for his rise within Hamas.
He transformed his activism into organized armed efforts, founding the Al-Majd organization that would later become Hamas. Al-Majd was committed to eliminating local collaborators and spies, pitting him directly against Shin Bet.
He effectively established Gaza “as a key center of resistance and a pivotal point in the struggle for Palestinian liberation,” Al Mayadeen notes.
At the age of 25, Al-Sinwar was arrested for the third time and sentenced to life in prison for thwarting Israeli espionage in Gaza.
He was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal and today oversees dozens of Israeli soldiers and settlers held captive in Gaza.
In 2018, al-Sinwar led the Great March of Return to peacefully try break the siege on Gaza.
Argaman, may Allah curse him, is now calling for Netanyahu’s head, blaming him for Sinwar’s continuing existence.
“If we had launched a surprise attack on Hamas, we would be in a completely different situation,” he’s told the Times of Israel. It seems surprise attacks are supposed to be allowed only for “chosen people”; any time Palestinians try it, it’s a war crime deserving of a genocide.
Agarman believes the current threat from Iran is purely due to Netanyahu’s “Sinwar fixation” at the expense of freeing hostages and forging a new alliance with the US.