Chief negotiators of Hamas and Israel at centre of Gaza talks

As Israel and Hamas statesman indirect negotiations connected Monday to extremity the two-year warfare successful Gaza, the talks volition beryllium guided by 2 men starring their respective delegations.

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The Hamas delegation is led by Khalil al-Hayya, a elder authoritative who survived an Israeli onslaught successful Doha past month.

The Israeli squad is headed by Ron Dermer, a adjacent adjutant to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but viewed by immoderate successful Israel arsenic an unconvincing negotiator.

Below are profiles of the 2 men astatine the centre of the high-stakes negotiations.

Khalil al-Hayya

Khalil al-Hayya has survived 3 assassination attempts and is considered 1 of the much mean figures successful Hamas.

With a wide stature and well-groomed appearance, Hayya has led rounds of indirect negotiations betwixt the Palestinian Islamist question and Israel.

Along with respective elder Hamas officials based successful the Qatari capital, Hayya was the people of Israeli strikes past month.

Hayya and different leaders survived, but the onslaught killed respective radical including his lad and his bureau director.

Ahead of his departure for Egypt connected Sunday evening, Hayya spoke successful a recorded connection marking his archetypal nationalist quality since the attack.

He praised Palestinian resilience portion noting that his radical unrecorded “in the shadiness of pain… with the nonaccomplishment of thousands” of lives.

Hayya was calved successful January 1960 successful the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City and grew up successful a blimpish and spiritual family.

Known to Palestinians arsenic Abu Ossama, Hayya spent 3 years successful an Israeli situation successful the precocious 1990s for his rank successful Hamas, which is banned arsenic a “terrorist” organisation by Israel, the EU and galore occidental nations.

He studied astatine the Islamic University of Gaza, obtained a master’s grade successful Jordan, and earned a doctorate successful Islamic instrumentality successful Sudan.

Hayya had already survived assassination attempts successful 2007 and 2014.

Several of his household members including his eldest lad had been killed, and helium besides mislaid different relatives during an Israeli onslaught successful the aboriginal months of the warfare sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented onslaught connected Israel connected October 7, 2023.

In 2006, Hayya was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, wherever helium subsequently led Hamas’s parliamentary bloc, a twelvemonth earlier his question took power of Gaza.

He served arsenic Hamas’s governmental lawman caput for the territory, earlier taking the pb pursuing the decease of Yahya Sinwar successful an Israeli onslaught successful October 2024.

Hayya near the Gaza Strip years earlier Hamas’s October 2023 onslaught and has led the movement’s dialog delegation since 2014.

A Hamas authoritative adjacent to him told AFP that helium demonstrates “intelligence and wisdom”, portion noting his “conservative and pragmatic temperament”.

“He does not suffer his temper easy and is respected by each members of the governmental bureau and subject commanders,” the authoritative added.

They said Hayya maintained “privileged” relationships with respective movements, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Lebanese Hezbollah, arsenic good arsenic Arab countries specified arsenic Algeria, Egypt and Qatar.

He besides has adjacent ties with Iran, the main fiscal and subject backer of Hamas, the authoritative added.

Yasser Abu Hein, a Gaza-based governmental analyst, said Hayya is “considered a omniscient negotiator”.

Losing a fig of his children, arsenic wel...