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'''Ghazi Hamad''' (غازي حمد) was chairman of the border crossings authority in the [[Gaza Strip]]. He was Deputy Foreign Minister in the [[Hamas government of 2012]].<ref name=asharq>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121205170941/http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=30949 ''Hamas seeks to enter the world of diplomacy'']. Saleh al-Naami, Asharq Al-Awsat, 5 September 2012</ref><ref name=eldar>{{cite news|last=Eldar|first=Shlomi|title=''Hamas' Leadership Crisis May Spell Radicalization''|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/01/11/the-day-after-jabari.html|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=Maariv|date=16 November 2012}}</ref>

==Biography==
Hamad was born 1964 in Yebna.

==Education and career==
He holds a bachelor's degree in veterinary medicine and speaks both English and [[Hebrew]] in addition to his native [[Arabic]].<ref name=ravid>{{cite news|title=IDF refrains from response to Gaza rocket fire as border violence cools|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-refrains-from-response-to-gaza-rocket-fire-as-border-violence-cools-1.355219|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=Haaretz|date=11 April 2011|author=Anshel Pfeffer|author2=Barak Ravid|author3=Jack Khoury}}</ref> He is editor of the weekly message previously and was previously chief editor of the now-defunct Hamas-owned ''[[Al Watan (Palestine)|Al Watan]]'' newspaper.

For 25 years he has been a member of Hamas, and he is the former editor-in-chief of the Hamas weekly newspaper ''[[Ar-Risala]]''.<ref name=pbs>{{cite web|last=Warner|first=Margaret|title=Palestinians Prepare for Elections|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june06/palestine_1-24.html|publisher=PBS|accessdate=16 December 2012|date=24 April 2006}}</ref><ref name=meforum>{{cite news|last=Schenker|first=David|title=The Palestinian Authority, a Hybrid Creation|url=http://www.meforum.org/481/the-palestinian-authority-a-hybrid-creation|accessdate=16 December 2012|newspaper=Middle East Quarterly|date=September 1999}}</ref> As of October 2004, Hamad was also the head of the Islamic Salvation Party.<ref name="aljazeera">{{cite web |last1=El-Haddad |first1=Laila |author1-link=Laila el-Haddad |title=Ghazi Hamad: Hamas has become more pragmatic |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/48BF1C1C-0300-49E9-A7FC-2FC72D02204B.htm aljazeera.net |website=[[Al Jazeera English]] |access-date=2021-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903014540/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/48BF1C1C-0300-49E9-A7FC-2FC72D02204B.htm |archive-date=2006-09-03 |date=2004-10-14 |url-status=unfit}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

He assumed the role of a spokesman for Hamas, having gained considerable credibility through the popularity of his newspaper, his imprisonment by the [[Palestinian National Authority]] under the [[Fatah]] administration as well as his five-year detention by the Israelis for activities related to Hamas.<ref name="pbs"/> Mr. Hamad was editor at the time Al-Risala was shut down and he himself was imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority for publishing articles detrimental to the reputation of the PA, particularly its prison system.<ref name="meforum"/> In August 2006, he wrote an article for Al Ayyam, a [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian]] daily newspaper, stating that "Gaza is suffering under the yoke of anarchy and the swords of thugs," and "It is strange that, when a big effort is taken to reopen [[Rafah crossing]] to ease the suffering of the people, you see others who go to shell rockets towards the crossing. Or when someone talks about cease-fire and its importance, you find those who go and shell more rockets. Of course, I do not deny that the occupation committed massacres that cannot be justified. But I support negotiations over what can be fixed."<ref name="nytimes">[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/world/middleeast/29mideastcnd.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=6a9276fccdc690d9&hp&ex=1156824000&partner=homepage nytimes.com]</ref>

In 2006, responding to the [[2006 shelling of Beit Hanoun]] in which fire from Israeli tanks killed at least 18 Palestinians and injured 40, Hamad was quoted as saying "Israel should be wiped from the face of the Earth. It is an animal state that recognizes no human worth. It is a cancer that should be eradicated."<ref name="bbc">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6127250.stm bbc.co.uk]</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3325327,00.html Hamas: Israel must be wiped out], ''[[Ynetnews]]''</ref>

On 31 May 2007, Hamad stated his willingness to accept a [[Palestinian state]]<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6708999.stm BBC News | Ghazi Hamad<]</ref> within the pre-1967 borders.

On 23 September 2011, after [[Mahmoud Abbas]] formally asked the [[United Nations]] for Palestinian statehood, Hamad stated that he was not consulted and was ill-prepared for it.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93807 IRIN Middle East News 09/23/11]</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Hamas members]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Palestinian journalists]]
[[Category:1964 births]]

Ghazi Hamad - Revision history

->Citation bot at 00:15, 30 October 2021