DUBAI/CAIRO: Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried in Qatar on Friday following his assassination in the Iranian capital Tehran, and his possible successor told mourners his death would only make the Palestinian group more determined in its struggle against Israel.
Haniyeh’s death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its 11th month and concern grows that the conflict is spreading across the Middle East. Hamas and Iran have both accused Israel of carrying out the assassination and have pledged to retaliate against their foe. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death nor denied it.
Mourners at the ceremony included Khaled Meshaal, who is tipped to be the new Hamas leader. Other senior Hamas officials and Qatar’s Emir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani also attended.
Speaking at the mosque, where Haniyeh’s body was laid for prayers, Meshaal said his death would only make the group more determined to continue its fight for a free Palestine. There would be no concessions over its principles and no recognition of Israel, he said.
“Palestine will remain from the river to the sea... and the Zionists (Israel) have no place on the land of Palestine, regardless of how many they kill of us,” Meshaal said in a video released by Hamas.
“Our enemies don’t learn the lesson, they have been killing our leaders for over 100 years, what happened? When a leader ascends (to heaven) another leader comes,” he said.
He was seen by many diplomats as a pragmatist compared to the more hardline members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza, although some Israeli commentators have said he was considered by some on the Israeli side as an obstacle to a deal.
As if he knew his time had come, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s last words to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before he was assassinated in Tehran were a Quranic verse about life, death, immortality and resilience.
“It is Allah who gives life and causes death. And Allah is all-aware of all actions ... ‘If a leader leaves, another will arise’,” Haniyeh said in Arabic. A few hours later he was killed in a suspected Israeli strike on his guesthouse.
— Agencies SEE ALSO P5
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