Saleh al-Arouri is a prominent leader of Hamas and founding commander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military.
Al-Arouri founded the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.[1] The government of the United States accuses Arouri of having been, "a high-ranking Hamas military leader dating back to his role as a Hamas student cell leader at Hebron University in the early 1990s."[1]
When he was released from prison in Israel in 2007, he told interviewers that he abjured terrorist attacks, asserting that Hamas is “harmed if we target civilians.”[2][1] He was deported by Israel shortly after his release form prison, and now lived in Turkey.[1]
According to Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank, Arouri, "has been a key figure behind Hamas’ efforts to rejuvenate the group’s terrorist networks in the West Bank.”[1] Levitt asserts that he has dispatched, "dozens of operatives" to Israel with funds to carry out the terror kidnapping of Israelis with the goal of obtaining kidnap-pees to exchange for Palestinian security prisoners.[1]
Al-Arouri is regarded as the author of a recent series of incidents of terrorism in Israel, including the 2015 Shuvat Rachel shooting and the Shooting of Danny Gonen.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f McCoy, Terrance (10 July 2014). "The enigmatic Hamas leader allegedly behind the Israeli kidnappings that ignited war". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ Mitnick, Joshua (18 March 2007). "Freed Hamas leader shuns terror tactics". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ Limor, YoavLimor (20 July 2015). "Hamas cell arrested over deadly Shvut Rachel terrorist attack". Israel HaYom. Retrieved 23 July 2015.