Suhail al-Hindi
Suheil Ahmad Hassan al-Hindi[1] is a Palestinian politician and education administrator who has been a member of the Hamas Political Bureau since 2017.
Between 2011 and 2017, al-Hindi was chairman of the UNRWA Palestinian workers' union in Gaza, also known as the Arab Employees Union, and principal of the Palestine Boys' Elementary School, an UNRWA school. UNRWA suspended al-Hindi in 2011 and 2017 for political involvement with Hamas in contravention of the agency's rules.
Biography
[edit]UNRWA
[edit]Between 2011 and 2017, al-Hindi was chairman of the UNRWA Palestinian workers' union (also called the Arab Employees Union) in Gaza and principal of the Palestine Boys' Elementary School, an UNRWA school.[2]
UNRWA suspended al-Hindi in September 2011 for 3 months without pay for participating in a union event attended by Hamas officials including Deputy Chief of the Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh and founder Ahmed Yassin.[3] Israel has accused UNRWA of cooperating with militants.[4] In protest of the suspension, the Arab Employees Union, which al-Hindi headed, held a sit-in at the main gate of Gaza City and closed all UNRWA facilities for 2 hours on 20 September, according to Hamas-affiliated Palinfo.[5] According to Al Jazeera Arabic, al-Hindi's suspension was the straw that broke the camel's back in relations between Hamas and UNRWA, leading to Hamas publicly criticizing the agency. According to analyst Issam Adwan, Hamas had grown frustrated with recent UNRWA actions, including al-Hindi's suspension, measures related to teaching the Holocaust to Palestinian students, and refusal to employ political figures associated with Hamas.[3]
Election to Hamas Political Bureau
[edit]As early as 2012, Israel claimed that it had informed UNRWA that al-Hindi was a Hamas activist.[6] Israel alleged that al-Hindi was elected to the 20-member Hamas Political Bureau, the leadership body of Hamas, in a 13 February 2017 secret election. Al-Hindi denied reports of his election, as UNRWA forbids staff from holding political office.[4] After an initial internal investigation, UNRWA announced in a 24 February statement that it had "neither uncovered nor received evidence to contradict" al-Hindi's denial.[7] On 26 February, UNRWA suspended al-Hindi after receiving "substantial information."[4] Israel has long claimed that some of UNRWA's Palestinian employees support terrorist activities and spread antisemitism.[8]
Sometime after his election to the Political Bureau, al-Hindi moved from Gaza to Turkey, where he is under the protection of the Erdogan government, which supports Hamas.[1]
Israel-Hamas war
[edit]Following the death of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in January 2024, al-Hindi became a prominent spokesman for Hamas in Turkey, staging pro-Hamas events alongside Turkish Islamist organizations, including at the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul. Al-Hindi spoke alongside Enver Kılıçarslan, who delivered an antisemitic speech depicting Jews as monkeys and pigs. At an event in Bursa, al-Hindi praised the October 7 attacks, saying "These brave individuals, the Al-Qassam Brigades, have brought the Zionists to their knees and instilled fear in them."[1]
In light of UNRWA's suspension of employees for involvement in the October 7 attacks on Israel, al-Hindi's case from 2017 was brought up in the news media.[6] As Hamas Political Bureau member and senior Hamas official, al-Hindi represented Hamas' position on negotiations during the Israel-Hamas war in May,[9] August 2024,[10] and April 2025.[11] After the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Hanieyh, al-Hindi told the Washington Post that, "While his death will undoubtedly leave an impact, this wound will soon be healed."[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Bozkurt, Abdullah (2024-01-21). "Senior Hamas leader, aided by Iran-backed Hizbullah, orchestrates anti-Israel events in Turkey". Nordic Monitor. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ Halabi, Einav (2025-03-26). "These are the Hamas leaders who fled and who have been killed". Ynet News. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ a b Fayyad, Ahmed (2011-09-26). "توتر العلاقات بين حماس وأونروا". Al Jazeera Arabic (in Arabic). Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "UN suspends Gaza staffer amid allegations of Hamas ties". Associated Press. 2017-02-26. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "اتحاد الموظفين بغزة يعلق عمله بـالأونروا احتجاجًا على وقف رئيسه اقرأ المزيد عبر المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام". Palinfo (in Arabic). 2011-09-20. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ a b Magid, Jacob. "UNRWA says it routinely submits staff lists to Israel and got no objections". Times of Israel. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "Gaza Neutrality Issue". UNRWA. 2017-02-24. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "Top UN staffer in Gaza said elected to Hamas leadership". Times of Israel. 2017-03-17. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "إسرائيل - حماس: أبرز نقاط الخلاف التي تحول دون التوصل لاتفاق هدنة في غزة". France 24 Arabic. 2024-05-01. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "حركة حماس لن تشارك في مفاوضات وقف إطلاق النار الخميس". Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (in Arabic). 2024-08-14. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ Mohanna, Nagham (2025-04-16). "'Hamas is finished, politically and militarily': Gazans call for group to accept ceasefire deal". The National. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ "Where does Hamas go from here?". Washington Post. 2024-07-31. Archived from the original on 2024-07-31. Retrieved 7 June 2025.