->Egeymi at 16:48, 9 January 2022

2022-01-09T16:48:39Z

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{{Short description|Palestinian politician and cofounder of Hamas (1950–2003)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
|birth_name = Ismail Abu Shanab
|birth_date = 1950
|birth_place = [[Nuseirat]]
|death_date = 21 August {{death year and age|2003|1950}}
|native_name = '''إسماعيل أبو شنب'''
|death_place = [[Gaza city]]
|nationality = [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]]
|alma_mater = [[Mansoura University|Al Mansoura University]]<br/>[[Colorado State University]]
|occupation = Civil engineer
|years_active = 1980s{{ndash}}2003
}}
'''Ismail Abu Shanab''' (1950{{spaced ndash}}21 August 2003) was one of the founders of [[Hamas]], and one of its three most senior leaders in [[Gaza City|Gaza]].<ref name="Gunning2010">{{cite book|author=Jeroen Gunning|title=Hamas in Politics: Democracy, Religion, Violence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zuFhcR_rGjAC&pg=PR6|date=1 April 2010
|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-70045-0|page=101}}</ref> More specifically, he was the second highest leader of Hamas only after [[Sheikh Ahmed Yassin]].<ref name=smh>{{cite news|title=Tens of thousands attend Hamas leader's funeral|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/22/1061529345103.html|access-date=17 November 2012
|newspaper=SMH|date=23 August 2003}}</ref> He was also the political leader of Hamas,<ref>{{cite news|author=Barbara Plett|title=Hamas' roadblock to peace|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2970178.stm|accessdate=7 December 2012
|work=BBC|date=6 June 2003|location=Jerusalem}}</ref> who was strongly against suicide bombings and in favor of a long-term truce.<ref>{{cite news|title=Which Way for Hamas?|url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/11/05/which-way-for-hamas/|access-date=19 September 2020|work=The New York Review of Books|date=5 November 2009|author=Nicolas Pelham
|author2=Max Rodenbeck|format=Book Review}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Shanab was born in the central Gaza refugee camp of [[Nuseirat]] in 1950.<ref name=aahramw/> His family was originally from the village of Al Jayyeh, a village near [[Ashkelon]] and [[Yubna]].<ref name=Gunning2010/> They were expelled from the village and came the refugee camp in 1948.<ref name=aahramw/>

Shanab graduated from high school in 1966 and was accepted at then newly opened [[Bir Zeit University]] in the [[West Bank]]. However, due to the [[1967 Arab-Israeli War]] and Israel's subsequent occupation, he could not attend the university.<ref name=aahramw/> In 1972, he managed to go to Egypt to receive university education. He obtained a bachelor of science degree in [[civil engineering]] from [[Mansoura University]] in Cairo.<ref name=aahramw/><ref name=bwhit>{{cite news|author=Brian Whitaker|title=Pragmatist whose two-state solution cut no ice with Israel
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/22/israel1|access-date=25 July 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 August 2003}}</ref> After working four years in Gaza city, Shanab went to the US and obtained a master of science degree in civil engineering from [[Colorado State University]].<ref name=aahramw/><ref name=wgaza>{{cite web
|title=Ismail Abu Shanab|url=http://www.webgaza.net/gaza_strip/gaza/people_profiles/Abu-Shanab_Ismail.htm|work=Web Gaza|accessdate=24 July 2012}}</ref>

==Career and activities==
Shanab returned to Gaza city in 1977 after completing his undergraduate studies and he worked at the municipal council until 1981.<ref name=aahramw/> Following the completion of graduate studies in the US Shanab began to work as an instructor in engineering at [[Islamic University of Gaza|Gaza Islamic University]].<ref name=wgaza/> During this period, Shanab met with the Hamas founder [[Ahmed Yassin]], Ibrahim Magadmeh and the Islamic Jihad founder [[Fathi Shiqaqi]], and eventually, he joined Hamas.<ref name=aahramw/> He was imprisoned in 1989 for his involvement in founding Hamas and being a deputy to Ahmed Yassin. On the other hand, Israel press statement argued that Shanab was detained since he had admitted to have participated in planning and carrying out the kidnapping and murder of an Israeli soldier, Ilan Sa'adon.<ref name=isrpress/> He improved his religious knowledge base during his time in prison.<ref name=Gunning2010/> Shanab was freed in late 1996.<ref name=bwhit/> He was in a [[solitary cell]] underground for two years during his imprisonment.<ref name=t03/>

After his release, Shanab was elected as the head of the Palestinian Engineers Association on the list of Hamas in 1997.<ref name=wgaza/> In November 1998, Palestinian police arrested Shanab and other top Hamas leaders, including [[Mahmud Zahar]], Ismail Haniyya and Ahmed Baher.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Khaled Amayreh|title=Clampdown short of war|journal=Al Ahram Weekly|date=4–11 November 1998|issue=402|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/402/re1.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117161922/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1998/402/re1.htm|archive-date=17 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Then Shanab began to serve as Hamas observer in the Central Council of the [[Palestinian Liberation Organization]]. He also became one of the spokespersons of the Hamas' political wing in Gaza.<ref name=t03>{{cite news|author=Johanna McGeary|title=My Last Encounter with Ismail Abu Shanab |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,477936,00.html|access-date=19 September 2020|work=Time Magazine|date=24 August 2003}}</ref> However, his role as spokesperson was not ordinary in that he was Hamas's most visible spokesperson in the western media.<ref name=gazit/>

After suicide bombings killed 25 people in Israel in 2001, Palestinian police arrested Shanab and Ismail Haniya among the others in December 2001.<ref name=iol>{{cite news|title=Arafat rounds up Hamas leaders after bombings
|url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/arafat-rounds-up-hamas-leaders-after-bombings-1.77866#.UKelSuSTrmA|accessdate=17 November 2012|work=Independent Online|date=3 December 2001|location=Gaza City}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Palestinian police jail 100 militants|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1364192/Palestinian-police-jail-100-militants.html
|access-date=17 November 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=3 December 2001}}</ref> Shanab participated in the 2002 and 2003 peace talks as a Hamas representative.<ref name=wgaza/> He also functioned as Hamas's link to Palestinian Prime Minister [[Mahmoud Abbas]] when Abbas was trying to persuade militant groups to stop attacking Israelis.<ref name=gazit/><ref>{{cite news|author=Wolf Blitzer|title=Who was Ismail Abu Shanab|work=CNN|date=23 August 2003
|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/08/21/wbr.hamas.leader/|access-date=25 July 2012}}</ref> Shanab was one of the supporters of ceasefire declared by armed Palestinian groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad on 29 June 2003.<ref name=aahramw/> The ceasefire was unilateral, called ''hudna'' in Arabic.<ref name=waving>{{cite journal|author1=Beverly Milton Edwards|author2=Alastair Crooke|title=Waving, Not Drowning: Strategic Dimensions of Ceasefires and Islamic Movements|journal=Security Dialogue|date=September 2004|volume=35|issue=3|pages=296–310
|url=http://conflictsforum.org/articlepdfs/waving-not-drowning.pdf|doi=10.1177/0967010604047528|s2cid=43479367}}</ref>

Shanab was the third-in-command in Hamas, behind late [[Abdulaziz Rantisi]] and Mahmud Zahar and in front of Ismail Haniya before his assassination in August 2003.<ref name=meonline>{{cite news|title=Abu Shanab, a moderating voice in Hamas|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=6842|accessdate=17 November 2012|work=Middle East Online
|date=21 August 2003|location=Gaza City}}</ref>

===Views===
Abu Shanab represented the Hamas's more moderate and pragmatic side, although he was subject to Yassin's leadership and committed to Hamas ideology. Unlike Yassin, he supported a long-term ceasefire with Israel and a [[two-state solution]].<ref name=gazit>{{cite journal|author1=Nir Gazit|title=State-directed political assassination in Israel: A political hypothesis|journal=International Sociology|year=2011|volume=26|issue=6|pages=862–877|author2=Robert J Brym
|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0268580910394006|doi=10.1177/0268580910394006|s2cid=54055634}}</ref> On the other hand, he argued that group decision is better than individual decision, even though the individual is right.<ref name=Gunning2010/> Although he did not advocated suicide bombing attacks, he stated that it was a primitive weapon and added "But, it’s all we have and it’s less harmful than F-16s loaded with tons of explosives."<ref>{{cite book|title=Kill Khalid: Mossad's Failed Hit-- and the Rise of Hamas|year=2009|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=Crows Nest, N.S.W.|isbn=9781741756005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxVOmQEACAAJ|author=Paul McGeough}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Shanab was married and had nine children, five daughters and four sons. His eldest son Hassan studied computer engineering in the US and his youngest son, Mesk, was two-years-old when Shanab was killed.<ref name=aahramw/> As of 2012 his son Hamza (born 1984) headed the Palestinian Assembly for Supporting the Syrian Revolution, a [[nongovernmental organization]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Robert Plotkin|title=Ramallah Diary: J-School Student Drops In Uninvited|url=http://observer.com/2002/05/ramallah-diary-jschool-student-drops-in-uninvited/|accessdate=25 July 2012
|newspaper=New York Observer|date=13 May 2002}}</ref>

Shanab lived in the community of Eshaikh Radhwan, north of Gaza City.<ref name=meonline/> He had good command of English.<ref name=t03/>

==Assassination==
On 21 August 2003, Shanab and his two bodyguards were hit and killed by an Israeli helicopter missile strike while travelling by car in Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.<ref name=wgaza/><ref>{{cite web|author=Paul Hilder|title=The nail in the wood: an interview with Ismail Abu Shanab|url=http://www.fromoccupiedpalestine.org/node/774|work=Open Democracy
|access-date=25 July 2012|date=July 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Question of Palestine. Illegal Israeli actions in OPT – Letter from Palestine|url=https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-184495/|work=United Nations|access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref> In the attack, an [[Apache helicopter]] fired three or four missiles at the car.<ref name=aahramw>{{cite journal|author=Khaled Amayreh|title=Marked for liquidation|journal=Al Ahram Weekly
|date=28 August – 3 September 2003|issue=653|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/653/re1.htm|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213223042/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/653/re1.htm|archivedate=13 December 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Louay Safi|title=Elusive Peace: 60 Years of Pain and Suffering
|url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=25627|access-date=18 November 2012|work=Middle East Online|date=30 April 2008}}</ref> The assassination occurred in retaliation for the [[Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing|suicide bombing of a Jerusalem bus]] on 19 August 2003, killing twenty mostly orthodox Jews, including six children.<ref>{{cite news
|author=Chris McGreal|title=Killing of Hamas leader, Ismail Abu Shanab, ends truce|newspaper=The Guardian
|url=http://www.fromoccupiedpalestine.org/node/690|access-date=25 July 2012|date=22 August 2003}}</ref> [[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] issued a statement after the assassination and described Shanab as a senior terrorist and Hamas operative.<ref name=isrpress>{{cite web|title=Hamas terrorist Ismail Abu Shanab|work=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2003/Hamas+terrorist+Ismail+Abu+Shanab+-+21-Aug-2003.htm
|access-date=25 July 2012|location=Jerusalem|format=Press Release|date=21 August 2003}}</ref>

===Consequences===
The major consequence of his assassination was that the three-month ceasefire that had been declared on 29 June 2003 was terminated by Hamas, [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Islamic Jihad]]<ref>{{cite news|author=Roger Hardy
|title=Analysis: End of roadmap?|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3170895.stm|access-date=25 July 2012
|work=BBC|date=21 August 2003}}</ref> and [[Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades]]<ref name=aahramw/> two days after his assassination, on 23 August 2003.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Graham Usher|title=The New Hamas|journal=MERIP|date=21 August 2005|url=http://www.merip.org/mero/mero082105}}</ref> The other consequence was that Hamas continued its suicide attacks that had been stopped for a while.<ref name=gazit/> The assassination of Shanab and of the other Hamas leaders next year weakened the authority of [[Mahmoud Abbas]] who succeeded [[Yasser Arafat]] and of [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]], but increased the popularity of Hamas.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Or Honig
|title=Explaining Israel's Misuse of Strategic Assassinations|journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|date=2007
|volume=30|issue=6|page=567|doi=10.1080/10576100701329584|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/10576100701329584}}</ref>

===Funeral===
Nearly 100,000 people attended the funeral ceremony for Shanab held in Gaza City on 22 August 2003.<ref name=smh/> Ahmed Yassin along with other top Hamas leaders participated in the ceremony in the Omari mosque.<ref>{{cite news
|author=Inigo Gilmore|title=Hamas show of defiance at funeral|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=23 August 2003
|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/1439621/Hamas-show-of-defiance-at-funeral.html|access-date=18 November 2012|location=Gaza City}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=33em}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Shanab, Ismail}}
[[Category:20th-century engineers]]
[[Category:20th-century Palestinian people]]
[[Category:21st-century Palestinian people]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Assassinated Hamas members]]
[[Category:Colorado State University alumni]]
[[Category:Islamic University of Gaza faculty]]
[[Category:Mansoura University alumni]]
[[Category:Palestinian academics]]
[[Category:Palestinian civil engineers]]
[[Category:Palestinian Sunni Muslims]]
[[Category:People from Deir al-Balah Governorate]]

Ismail Abu Shanab - Revision history

->Egeymi at 16:48, 9 January 2022