Mahmoud Al-zahar

PRE-HAMAS LIFE

Born to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother in 1945 , little is known about al-Zahar's early life.

At the age of 26, he graduated from the Cairo University Faculty of Medicine and five years later he got his Masters Degree in General Surgery from Ain Shams University , also in Cairo . He then became the advisor to the Palestinian Health Minister, and helped create the Palestinian Medical Society and was one of the primary founders of the Islamic University In Gaza in 1978 .

FAMILY

al-Zahar has had four children with his wife Summaya, including their first son, Khaled born in 1974 , and a daughter Rima born in 1983 .

IN HAMAS

Instrumental to the creation of Hamas in 1987 , al-Zahar remained a senior official and spokesperson for the group since then, and is rumoured to have succeeded to leadership of the group following Israel 's assassination of Ahmed Yassin in 2004 . Hamas has routinely denied this rumour, but refused to name who their new leader is, for fear of Israeli reprisals.

The most notable attempt on al-Zahar's life was on September 10 2003 , when Israeli F-16 s dropped a large bomb over his house in Rimal that only managed to slightly wound him, while his son Khaled, and a personal bodyguard were killed, and 20 others wounded including his daughter Rima. His house was destroyed, and ten other houses nearby were damaged, as well as the nearby Al-Rahman mosque. The resulting funeral was attended by over two thousand mourners, who called on Hamas to avenge the deaths.

On March 20, 2006, Hamas named al-Zahar foreign minister.
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QUOTES

"Israel wants to negotiate only for the sake of negotiations, but on the ground, it expands settlements and continues building the separation fence on the Palestinian territories"
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"Anyone who thinks the calm means giving in is mistaken. The calm is in preparation for a new round of resistance and victory, If the enemy has something to offer we will study it, but we will not abide by a truce that is for free." {Link without Title}

"We are entering (parliament) to eliminate any traces of Oslo." {Link without Title}

"I hope that our dream to have our independent state on all historic Palestine will become real one day. I'm certain of this because there is no place for the state of Israel on this land" {Link without Title}

"Are these the laws for which the Palestinian street is waiting? For us to give rights to homosexuals and to lesbians, a minority of perverts and the mentally and morally sick?" {Link without Title}

Information About

Mahmoud Al-zahar