Testimonies from prison: Sinwar was a unique model of leadership

Yahya Sinwar, head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), left an indelible mark on the history of Palestinian resistance. Sinwar was arrested in 1988 and sentenced to four life sentences (totaling 426 years) on charges of masterminding the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian informants.

In prison, he emerged as a commanding figure, according to former Shin Bet security service official Michael Kobi, who interrogated him for 180 hours.

Kobi described Sinwar as having a unique ability to lead and intimidate, and said that when he asked him why he was not married at the time, when he was 28 or 29 years old, Sinwar replied: “Hamas is my wife, and Hamas is my daughter. Hamas is everything to me.”

After his release in the Wafa al-Ahrar prisoner exchange deal in 2011, Sinwar got married. However, his firm positions towards the resistance remained unchanged, as he believed that negotiations with Israel would not lead to the restoration of Palestinian land, and that only force could achieve this.

The Wafa al-Ahrar deal is a prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel on October 18, 2011, after years of indirect negotiations mediated by Egypt. Under the deal, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas - in 2006, was released in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

How was Sinwar?

Nabih Awada, a former Lebanese communist activist who was imprisoned with Sinwar between 1991 and 1995, confirmed that Sinwar was opposed to the Oslo peace agreement, describing the agreement as “catastrophic” and an Israeli ploy aimed at stealing Palestinian land by force rather than through negotiations, with no intention of giving it up.

Awada explained that Sinwar, whom he described as “stubborn and ideological,” would celebrate and fly with joy when he heard of any attacks carried out by Hamas or the Lebanese Hezbollah against Israel, considering that military confrontation is the only way to liberate Palestine from the Israeli occupation. For Sinwar, armed struggle remains the only way to impose the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Awada said Sinwar was "an influential role model for all prisoners, even those who were not Islamists or religious."

Awada continues: “In prison, Sinwar continued his mission of tracking down Palestinian spies collaborating with the occupation. His leadership skills and sharp intuition enabled him to uncover undercover informants for the Shin Bet, and even in captivity, he used his time to learn Hebrew fluently.

While playing table tennis barefoot in Ashkelon prison, Sinwar said that his walking without shoes represented his desire for his feet to touch the soil of Palestine, adding: “I am not in prison, I am on my land. I am free here, in my country.”

Awada recalls that Sinwar repeatedly said that Ashkelon, where they were both imprisoned, was the birthplace of his family.

Hamas announced, through its leader in the Gaza Strip, Khalil al-Hayya, today, Friday, the martyrdom of Sinwar, stressing that the movement is following in his footsteps in confronting the occupation until it is defeated.

Source: Reuters