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Israelis see the new Hamas leader as even more extremist

2024-08-09 15:50:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israelis see the new Hamas leader as even more extremist

Illustrative photo

Israelis have even less hope of reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip after the appointment of Yahya Sinwar as the leader of the militant group Hamas. As VOA Jerusalem correspondent Linda Gradstein reports, Israelis see him as an even more extremist figure than his predecessor.

After the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, Israel launched the operation to kill all the leaders of the militant group.

The one who managed to avoid assassination is Yahya Sinwar, the man who now leads the Islamic group. He is believed to be hiding underground in a tunnel in Gaza, using Israeli hostages as shields.

"Today, Yahya Sinwari heads the political bureau and the military wing of Hamas. This is the first time that all the power falls into the hands of one person who is probably the most extremist in the group," says Gershon Baskin, a former negotiator for the release of the hostages.

He does not expect any major changes in Hamas's position in the ceasefire negotiations that would end the war and allow the release of all hostages. He says that Sinwar is known as an extremist.

"There is no question that he is an extremist, he is very religious, he has a distorted view of what Islam is. He believes that the most important duty in Islam is to be a martyr for Palestine," says Mr. Baskin.

Israel sentenced Sinwar to life in prison in 1989 for orchestrating an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and for killing four Palestinians who were collaborating with Israel.

He has spent more than 20 years in Israeli prisons, speaks fluent Hebrew and considers himself an expert on Israel. He was among more than a thousand Hamas prisoners released in 2011 in exchange for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

Israeli officials say they are determined to kill him, as well as other Hamas leaders involved in the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.

"The change in his position not only does not prevent us from pursuing him, but motivates us to make efforts to find him, target him and once again replace the head of the politburo," says Israeli Army Commander Herzl Halevi.

On the streets of Gaza, opinion is divided over whether Sinwar's appointment will bring the two sides closer to a deal to end the 10-month war.

"His appointment will prolong the war even more because the Israelis don't want him. They want a political figure who makes concessions. We heard that Sinwari is stubborn and may not accept concessions," says Bashir Qarqaz, a resident of Gaza.

But others say Sinwar's appointment could make it easier to reach a deal with Israel.

"We hope this will speed up the end of the war, because he lives inside Gaza and knows the negotiation process," said Hani al-Qano, another resident.

After 10 months of fighting, civilians on both sides of the conflict say that regardless of who is in charge of Hamas, they just want the fighting to end./ Voa