Kristen Ess - The elected Prime Minister, ousted by the Palestinian Authority, Ismail Haniya, had disappeared from sight. Yesterday the Israeli press reported that he survived an assassination attempt. However, as of Monday night, the suspicions are running high regarding a real conspiracy to assassinate the Hamas official in Gaza. He is suspected to be deep underground at this point, with few to trust even within his own party, although he still sent a message to Amr Mousa Monday night denouncing the "crimes of the Israeli occupation."

Several in the Israeli government have openly threatened to "liquidate" Hamas officials; he was ousted from his position by President Abbas; and now high-ranking members of his own party with whom he has been long-since been at odds, are reportedly trying to kill him.

A source in the Hamas leadership refused to be named in an interview given to PalPress, one which PNN English was privy to. He said that sharp differences began ravaging the Hamas leaders in Gaza in recent times. This is not new news to PNN, as there has been a long running rift between the aspirations and political styles of Haniya and Mahmoud Az Zahhar, among others. As was stated in the interview, Az Zahhar, Said Siyam and Ahmed Jabari are in one group in Gaza, with Haniya in another.

Az Zahhar is considered much more “hard line,” while Haniya has shown more interest in dialogue and negotiation. This has been the public face of their differences. However, Haniya was not considered to be in a high position, running papers for the late Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Az Zahhar had aspirations for the position of Prime Minister.

But in the unnamed interview it was stated that the differences among the leaders were clear at times but had also faded from sight in previous months. However, since the press conference by Said Siyam when he intimated that there is a conspiracy by the PA in Ramallah to assassinate Haniya, things have gone to a new level. In the interview it was strongly suggested that the Az Zahhar group is looking to assassinate Haniya and blame it on the PA.
 
This was reported by a trusted source in the Hamas leadership. It was stated clearly that there is a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Ismail Haniya in Gaza, which would have unknown repercussions within the Hamas party. A summary of this plot, as the source confirmed, was that the leaderships of Hamas and the highest level of its armed resistance in the Al Qassam Brigades are referring to Haniya as “opportunistic.” They say that he has aspirations of running for the presidency and that he became Prime Minister was not a coincidence. They said this because he did not leave office during the Unity Government period and that President Abbas and he remained in contact throughout. They report that Haniya, even after the ousting of the Hamas government and its ensuing take-over of Gaza, still received privileges, such as the car, of the President. Az Zahhar and Siyam were also reportedly angered that Haniya told supporters during home visits that he would run for the presidency.

The purpose behind the assassination, as this interview with the trusted source in the Hamas party indicated, has a well laid plan.

Firstly, do not allow the major differences between the currents in the Hamas leadership to surface in the media before the assassination, but instead, the interview stated, “We must show the Islamic world that we are the heart of one man.”

Secondly, after the assassination we will accuse the Fateh party of the killing, which will levy a strong blow to the cadres and leaders of Fateh in Gaza.

Thirdly, as a result of the assassination and fallout, we will move the Hamas power to the West Bank and launch a defamation campaign against the leadership of President Abbas, and attempt to sabotage the current West Bank leadership, which is the Fateh-run PA.

Fourthly, the killing of Haniya will show the world that Hamas is a victim and that Abbas and his Fateh leadership in Ramallah are the victimizers, leading to sympathy for the Hamas party.

Fifthly, this will alleviate some of the pressures placed on Hamas by some in the Arab and Islamic world to change its behaviors regarding what has happened in Gaza, and will stabilize the place of Hamas in security and government.

Sixthly, by assassinating Haniya there will be no more empty dialogue as the Az Zahhar camp, which will become the full face of Hamas, will have achieved a victory that cannot be reversed.
 
To add to the complexity of things, the differences between the two currents within Hamas are not the product of the moment, but have occurred since the success of Hamas in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections. Several indicators reveal the tenuous situation within the party.
 
1 - Since the exit of Az Zahhar and Siyam from the Government of National Unity and the words of Haniya in which he said accidently on microphone that ‘if God imposed conditions he would not accept them,’ about which he was speaking of conditional funding by the Americans but was taken as a slanderous statement against god, it is was then suggested that the point was to impeach Az Zahhar from his position as Foreign Minister.

2 - After the Gaza take-over statement was read on 14 June 2007, it was suggested that Haniya was forced to read the statement and that from that moment Az Zahhar, Jabari and Siyam were linked.

3 - Mahmoud Az Zahhar, in more than one private meeting, was questioned by Haniya regarding his abilities.

4 - After the formation of the Government of National Unity Az Zahhar appointed Taher Nono as spokesperson for the government to have a kind of privilege within the government.

5 – The conflict intensified between them during Ramadan 2007. There were shootings between supporters of the two sides in Deir Al Belah, Beach Camp, and the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood; however reconciliations were forced in front of television cameras and photographers to preserve the reputation of the party’s unity.

6 - Since Ismail Haniya has not been in the media, made any statements or appearances, and in recent meetings only Az Zahhar and Siyam have been present, it is certain to many that Haniya has gone underground. This goes beyond the public Israeli threat to assassinate Hamas leaders, which forced most all of them underground in some form or another.

This interview between PalPress and the unnamed Hamas official also indicated that statements and preparations have already been made for the press conference to be held after the assassination.

Ismail Haniya is the elected Palestinian Prime Minister, targeted by the Israeli government as it has publically stated, the Hamas government as this interview suggests, and despised by the Palestinian Authority as his ousting revealed.

To repeat, the exclusive interview was given to PalPress and was shared with PNN English.