Ismail Haniyeh

Ismail Haniyeh
إسماعيل هنية‎
Haniyeh in 2020
Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority
In office 29 March 2006 – 2 June 2014 Disputed from 14 June 2007*
President	Mahmoud Abbas Aziz Dweik
Preceded by	Ahmed Qurei
Succeeded by	Rami Hamdallah
Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2017
Deputy	Saleh al-Arouri[1] (2017–2024)
Preceded by	Khaled Mashal
Hamas Chief in the Gaza Strip
In office 2 June 2014 – 13 February 2017
Leader	Khaled Mashal
Succeeded by	Yahya Sinwar
Personal details
Born	(1962-01-29) 29 January 1962 (age 62) Al-Shati refugee camp, Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip
Nationality	Palestinian
Political party	Hamas
Children	13 (3 deceased)
Residence(s)	Doha, Qatar
Alma mater	Islamic University of Gaza
*Haniyeh was dismissed on 14 June 2007 by Abbas, who appointed Fayyad instead. This was deemed illegal by the Legislative Council, which continued to recognise Haniyeh. The Palestinian Authority govern the West Bank while Hamas govern the Gaza Strip. A unity government was formed in 2014.

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Ismail Haniyeh^[a] (born 29 January 1962) is a Palestinian politician who is widely considered to be the chief political leader of Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007.^[2] He is the current chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau. As of 2023^[update], he lives in Qatar.^[3]

Haniyeh was born in the al-Shati refugee camp in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip in 1962. He studied at the Islamic University of Gaza,^[4][5] where he first became involved with Hamas, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Arabic literature in 1987. Appointed to head a Hamas office in 1997, he has since grown in the ranks of the organization.

Haniyeh was head of the Hamas list that won the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006, and so became Prime Minister of the State of Palestine. However, Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, dismissed Haniyeh from his office on 14 June 2007. Due to the then-ongoing Fatah–Hamas conflict, Haniyeh did not acknowledge Abbas' decree and continued to exercise prime ministerial authority in the Gaza Strip.^[6]

Haniyeh was the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from 2006 until February 2017, when he was replaced by Yahya Sinwar. On 6 May 2017, Haniyeh was elected chairman of Hamas's Political Bureau, replacing Khaled Mashaal; at the time, Haniyeh relocated to Qatar from the Gaza Strip.^[7][8]

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