Gaza, City 04 August 2024 (Anadolu News)

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on Wednesday that the head of its political bureau Ismail Haniyeh had been assassinated in an Israeli raid on his residence in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

The body of Shaheed Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard Wasim Abu Shaban were taken to the Imam Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd Al Wahab State Masjid  in Qatar’s capital Doha where thousands of mourners performed funeral prayers over the caskets, covered in the Palestinian flag.

Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani, Father Amir and former Amir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa AlThani, Hamas leaders Khaled Meshaal, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also attended.

Hamas issued a statement mourning Haniyeh, saying he was killed “in a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran after participating in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president.”

Iranian state television also confirmed Haniyeh’s death in Tehran, saying an investigation into the assassination is underway and findings will be announced later.

Israel has yet to comment on the major incident.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal reiterated Friday that the movement will not recognize Israel, asserting that the assassination of the head of the group’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, “only strengthens our people.”

He made the remarks during the funeral ceremony for his bodyguard Wasim Abu Shaban at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque in Doha, Qatar.

“We will not compromise on principles and will not recognize Israel. Our people will maintain our national unity, continuing the path of jihad, resistance, and reclaiming our rights,” said Meshaal.

“Our enemies (Israel) do not learn the lesson; they have been killing our leaders for a hundred years, so what has happened?” he asked rhetorically. “Every time a leader rises, another comes; this only makes our people stronger.”

Haniyeh’s last public appearance was on Tuesday at Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration ceremony in Tehran. Haniyeh was a prominent Palestinian political leader and a symbol of Hamas, who served as the Palestinian prime minister between 2006 and 2007.

In May 2017, he was elected for the first time the head of the Hamas group’s political bureau and reelected for a second term in 2021.

Before Haniyeh’s assassination, Israel killed Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yasin on March 22, 2004, and then killed the resistance group’s prominent leader Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi on April 17.

Haniyeh served in the Hamas leadership for 20 years, taking on various roles such as resistance group leader in Gaza, deputy leader, and eventually top leader.

The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh has sent shockwaves around the world, casting uncertainty over the future of Hamas and the broader regional dynamics.

Haniyeh was killed in the Iranian Capital Tehran on Wednesday after attending the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, in what Hamas termed “a treacherous Zionist raid.”

As questions swirl about the fallout of his death, analysts say it will not impact Hamas’ political activities nor affect the wider Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.

“Hamas has been known to actually adapt and for its flexibility to choose and fix the loss of their political leadership,” Palestinian social and political scientist Abdalhadi Alijla told Anadolu.

He believes Haniyeh’s assassination could give Hamas “more strength” and make it “more popular publicly.”

His assassination could prove for “the majority of Arabs, the Arab youth and the Palestinians that Israel targets even the most pragmatic leadership,” said Alijla, a senior fellow at the Arab Reform Initiative.

“Ismail Haniyeh was the negotiator and one of the most popular figures among Palestinians. He was also the most pragmatic when it comes to the two-state solution,” the analyst said.

Alijla pointed out that targeting Hamas leaders, especially the political bureau, has been an Israeli strategy since 2002, including its founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and other key figures such as Ismail Abu Shanab.

“The impact as we can see is that Hamas has developed so much that it now has a sophisticated military wing, but also have a semi-democratic Shura (council), a political system,” he said.

“They have internal elections … they have a council … they will meet and decide who is going to be the leader of the political bureau of Hamas.”

In the meantime, the group could possibly appoint someone in a transitional leadership role, he added.

As for the Palestinian cause, Alijla said Haniyeh’s assassination will only serve to reinforce “what Hamas believed for a long time, which is that military and armed resistance is the only way.”

He said Israel killed many leaders of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization from the 1960s to the early 1990s, but it had no effect on the Palestinian cause.

“The Palestinian struggle for liberation is not conditioned with one leadership or another, or a political party or another,” he added.

Impact on Gaza cease-fire talks

Political commentator Chris Doyle concurred with Alijla’s assessment, stressing that Haniyeh’s assassination “will not materially weaken Hamas” as the group has other figures to replace him.

On the regional and other implications, he warned the situation is now “very dangerous.” He said the attack on Haniyeh “shows that the Israeli leadership is prepared to escalate and risk a major regional war.”

“There’s little chance that the situation in Gaza will improve or that Hamas will be more minded to push for a cease-fire. There is also unlikely a political resolution to the carnage in Gaza,” said Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu).

He added that it is “not impossible that Israel will try to carry out further assassinations.” According to Alijla, there is unlikely to be any negotiations on a cease-fire in the coming days.

“We don’t know when negotiations will resume, how they will start,” he said. The issue is not only about Hamas and Gaza anymore, and it is “more a regional conflict,” he said.

“Actually, Netanyahu is driving the whole world and threatening the safety and security of international system, and endangering world peace,” he added.