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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #0483/01 0331701
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 021701Z FEB 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0101
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

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