Fathi Ahmad Hamad (, also spelled Fathi Hammad; born 3 January 1961) is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

politician and member of the

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 ...

political bureau. He was

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

in the Hamas-administered

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 ...

from 2009 to 2014.

Biography

In 1983, Hammad joined the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

. He is the founder and Vice President of Dar Al Quran. From 1988 to 1994, Hamad was in Israeli prison. He was also arrested three times by the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

and spent 2 years in Palestinian jails. Hamad became a

-affiliated member of the

Palestinian Legislative Council The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinians, Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the Wes ...

in 2006, representing his home town of

Beit Lahia Beit Lahia or Beit Lahiya () is a city in the Gaza Strip, north of Jabalia, in the North Gaza Governorate of the State of Palestine. It sits next to Beit Hanoun and close to the border with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Burea ...

in northern Gaza. He also leads the Hamas Public Affairs Department and the chairman of al-Ribat Communications and Artistic Productions - a Hamas-run company which produces Hamas's radio station,

Al-Aqsa Voice Radio Al-Aqsa Voice Radio (); is a radio station run by Hamas based in Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine. Together with sister operation Al-Aqsa TV, it is seen as one of the most influential outlets promulgating Hamas's narrative to residents of Gaza since th ...

, its television station,

Al-Aqsa TV Al-Aqsa TV () is a television channel run by Hamas, which is based in the Gaza Strip. Its programs include news and propaganda promoting Hamas, children's shows, and religiously inspired entertainment. It is currently directed by Fathi Hamad, w ...

and its bi-weekly newspaper, ''The Message''.''Hamas officially announces Fathi Hamad new Interior Minister''
Palestinian Press, 27 April 2009 Under his direction, the station broadcast children's show

Tomorrow's Pioneers ''Tomorrow's Pioneers'' (), also known as ''The Pioneers of Tomorrow'', is a Palestinian children's television show that was broadcast by the Hamas-affiliated television station Al-Aqsa TV from 13 April 2007 to 16 October 2009, hosted by a yo ...

, which received heavy criticism for its

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and Islamist content. Hamad defended the contents of the show, stating "it does not violate any moral or professional standard." In April 2009, Hamad was appointed

in the Hamas-administered

, replacing Said Seyam who had been assassinated by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

during the 2008-09 Gaza War.''New Hamas cabinet approved by lawmakers''
Ma'an, 27 August 2012 He ceased being Interior Minister in June 2014 on the formation of the Fatah-Hamas unity government. According to the United States, Hamad used his position as interior minister to "coordinate terrorist cells." In November 2009, Waad, a Gaza charity headed by Hamad, offered a $1.4 million bounty to any Arab citizen of Israel who abducts an Israeli soldier. While Palestinian militant groups have frequently called on Arab-Israelis to capture soldiers, this marked the first time money had been offered. In September 2016, the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

named Hamad a Specially Designated Terrorist, outlawing U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with him and freezing his assets in areas under U.S. jurisdiction. The designation named Hamad as the founder and director of Hamad's

, which the U.S. said aired "programs designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers." In response, Hamad told the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' that he "was proud that I managed to anger America." He provides funding and military instruction to the West Bank branch of Hamas, founded by prisoners released in the 2011

Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange (; ), also known as Wafa al-Ahrar () ("Faithful to the free"), followed a 2011 agreement between Israel and Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1027 prisoners — almost all Palestinia ...

. According to Palestinian officials, Hamad was behind a cell planning suicide bombings and other attacks in

Abu Dis Abu Dis or Abu Deis () is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, in the Jerusalem Governorate of the State of Palestine, bordering Jerusalem. Since the 1995 Oslo II Accord, Abu Dis land has been mostly part of " Area B", under Israeli military ...

Views

Hamad is viewed in Gaza as a powerful, but extreme, loose cannon, who operates independently of and kept at arm's length by Hamas. He is well known as one of the most radical figures in Hamas. Hamad was a central figure opposing reconciliation with the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority. A speech made by Hamad, broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV in February 2008, has been used as evidence by Israel and others that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups make use of human shields. In an interview which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on 14 December 2010 (as translated by

MEMRI The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), officially the Middle East Media and Research Institute, is an American non-profit press monitoring organization co-founded by Israeli ex-intelligence officer Yigal Carmon and Israeli-American ...

), Hamad stated that Hamas receives support. In a speech broadcast on

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian Al-Helma TV on 23 March 2012, Hamad condemned Egypt over the fuel shortage in the Gaza Strip, and stated, "Half of the Palestinians are Egyptians and the other half are Saudis." In March 2018, it was reported that Hamad is a senior Hamas official who opposes reconciliation with Fatah, and urges a resumption of war against Israel. He has been implicated in the assassination attempt on prime minister

Rami Hamdallah Rami Hamdallah (; born 10 August 1958) is a Palestinian politician and academic. He served as Prime Minister of the State of Palestine from 2013 to 2019 and was previously the president of An-Najah National University in Nablus from 1998 to 2 ...

Controversies

In July 2019, Hamad urged members of the

Palestinian diaspora The Palestinian diaspora (, ''al-shatat al-filastini''), part of the wider Arab diaspora, are Palestinian people living outside the region of Palestine and Israel. There are about 6.1 million members of the Palestinian Diaspora, most of whom live ...

to kill "Jews everywhere". His comments were characterized as

incitement to genocide Incitement to genocide is a crime under international law which prohibits inciting (encouraging) the commission of genocide. An extreme form of hate speech, incitement to genocide is an inchoate offense and is theoretically subject to prosecuti ...

Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), formerly the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, is an American non-profit pro-Israel media-monitoring, research and membership organization. ...

and the

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

. His rhetoric was condemned by other Palestinians. The deliberate killing of civilians is said by mainstream Islamic scholars to be prohibited in Islamic law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamad, Fathi Ahmad Living people 1961 births Palestinian militants Politicians from the Gaza Strip Members of the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council Government ministers of the Gaza Strip Interior ministers of the Palestinian National Authority Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council Islamic University of Gaza alumni Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government Individuals related to Iran Sanctions