Nizar Awadallah (, born December 11, 1957) is a Palestinian militant and politician who is serving as the member of Hamas Political Bureau in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

since 2009.

Biography

Nizar Awadallah was born in the

in 1957. His family originates from the Palestinian town of

Hamama Hamama (; also known in Byzantine times as ''Peleia'') was a Palestinian people, Palestinian town of over 5,000 inhabitants that was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was located 24 kilometers north of Gaza City, Gaza. It was con ...

, which became Northern Ashkelon after 1948. Awadallah studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University () is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was founded in July 1950, the third ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He served as the secretary of an organization called Mujama al-Islamiya, also known as the Islamic Centre, and is considered close to

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin (; June 1936 – 22 March 2004) was a Palestinian politician and imam who founded Hamas, an Islamist political and military organization. He also served as the first chairman of the Hamas Shura Council and ...

. He was arrested and imprisoned for six years (1989–1995) in an Israeli prison due to his involvement in an armed group called Mujahadin al-Filastayeen, translated as ‘Palestinian Holy Warriors’. He was assigned to lead the Hamas movement after the movement's victory in the 2006 legislative elections. He led the negotiations on behalf of Hamas in the Gilad Shalit deal. He was elected a member of the Hamas Political Bureau in 2009. His house was bombed by Israeli Air Force planes during the 2008–2009 Gaza war and the

2014 Gaza War The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

Career

*Member of Hamas's Political Bureau (2009–present) *Secretary of Mujama al-Islamiya *Head of Mujama al-Islamiya *Arrested for 6 years (1989–1995) as an official responsible for organizing the Palestinian

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

in the Hamas movement. In the internal elections for the leadership of the Hamas government in Gaza, held on March 9, 2021, he defeated

Yahya Sinwar Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar (; 29 October 1962 – 16 October 2024) was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024, and as the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from February ...

in the first round by a margin of 7 votes. Sinwar defeated him in the fourth round. On December 13, 2023, the

US Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

designated Nizar Awadallah as a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of U.S. Executive ...

linked to

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

. In December 2023, it was reported that Awadallah was killed in an airstrike as part of the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. According to another report, he was seriously injured. Awadallah's death was not confirmed by Hamas nor the IDF. According to Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Awadallah has been a key figure in negotiations during the

. He currently resides in Doha, Qatar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awadallah, Nizar 21st-century Palestinian politicians Palestinian people imprisoned by Israel Living people Ain Shams University alumni 1957 births Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List Politicians from the Gaza Strip