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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Who is Saleh al-Arouri; Hamas Resistance leader killed by 'Israel'?</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English</div>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">January 2, 2024<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>This
article traces some of the greatest accolades of Hamas politburo Deputy
Chief martyr Saleh al-Arouri, who set the spurred Resistance in the
West Bank.</p><p></p><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>
<a href="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/archive/image/2024/1/2/f9ea2a94-4fdc-4594-ad85-7460d48dd6de.png?v=4&width=1000" tabindex="0"><img src="https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/archive/image/2024/1/2/f9ea2a94-4fdc-4594-ad85-7460d48dd6de.png?v=4&width=1000&preset=w800" alt="Who is Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas leader assassinated by 'Israel'?" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></a>
Martyr and late leader Saleh al-Arouri. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Hady Dbouk)
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<p>On the evening of January 2, 2024, the Israeli regime assassinated
the Deputy Chief of Hamas' Political Bureau Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, in
Beirut Southern Suburb, Lebanon.</p>
<p>The chilling news of the great leader's martyrdom came after a series
of Israeli threats, which reached their peak in August 2023. Israeli
officials resented al-Arouri's direct years-long role in building up the
capabilities of the Palestinian Resistance in the West Bank, which
highlighted the fragility of Israeli security.</p>
<h2>Building up West Bank Resistance</h2>
<p>The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, mourned one of
its most devout leaders, who endured 15+ years of imprisonment and was
eventually forced out of Palestine and headed to Syria in 2010.
Al-Arouri stayed in the neighboring Arab country, before moving to
Turkey, Qatar, and Malaysia, eventually settling in the Southern Suburb
of Beirut in Lebanon, where he resumed his revolutionary work.</p>
<p>A statement released by Hamas following the news of al-Arouri's
assassination highlighted his leading political and military role both
in the West Bank and Gaza. In fact, al-Arouri, born on August 19, 1966,
played an integral role in setting up Hamas' military wing, al-Qassam
Brigades, in the West Bank.</p>
<p>The leader's original birth name is Saleh Mohammad Suleiman Khaseeb.
Nonetheless, akin to fellow families in the region, his unique
distinction as "al-Arouri" is derived from his roots in the <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israel-set-to-demolish-house-of-hamas-deputy-chief-in-west-b">small town of Arura</a>
within the Ramallah district. This connection is precisely why he is
recognized today as al-Arouri, which is interpreted as an individual
descending from the town of Arura, in Arabic.</p>
<p>The martyr's roots in his town shaped his political career, in which
he diligently and relentlessly worked to snatch the rights of his people
from the hands of the occupiers. Al-Arouri deliberately embraced the
legacy of past martyrs, aligning himself with the image of
revolutionaries unyielding in the face of the criminal Israeli regime.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Our blood and our souls are never more precious or dearer than any fallen martyr."</p>
<p>Martyr Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Al-Arouri's greatest accolades</h2>
<p>The leader did not only contribute to the organization of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hamas-unveils-groundbreaking-armor-piercing-efp-devices-in-j">Resistance cells in the West Bank</a> and other fronts, but he also led negotiations for prisoner exchange deals that the Resistance imposed on the occupation.</p>
<p>After graduating from al-Khalil University in the West Bank, with a
bachelor's degree in 1987 and studying Islamic Law (Shariah), al-Arouri
made his way up the movement's ranks, eventually voted in as a member of
its politburo in 2010.</p>
<p>The Resistance leader faced intermittent periods in captivity, as he
was first administratively detained in the early 1990s by Israeli
occupation forces, due to his activity within the Hamas movement. He was
later freed, but then redetained and sentenced to 15 years in prison
for establishing Resistance cells in the West Bank.</p>
<p>After completing his sentence, he was yet again detained and released
in 2010, to be finally forced out of the country in the same year.</p>
<p>He then headed Hamas’ negotiating team in charge of completing the
prisoner exchange deal in 2011 with the Israeli occupation, mediated by
Egypt. Hamas dubbed the operation "Faithful to the Free" (Wafaa
Al-Ahrar). Under the deal, Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was held
captive by Hamas, was released in exchange for the release of 1,027
Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, including the current leader
of Hamas, <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/who-is-yahya-al-sinwar-the-artist-behind-operation-al-aqsa-f">Yahya al-Sinwar</a>, among other prominent Palestinian figures.</p>
<p>On October 9, 2017, al-Arouri was elected as Deputy Head of Hamas'
Political Bureau. One year later, the United States enlisted him under
its infamous "terrorist list", and in 2021, he became the head of the
Hamas movement in the West Bank.</p>
<h2>A historic revolutionary</h2>
<p>The Israeli occupation demolished the house of the senior Hamas
leader in Aroura in 2014, and then once again this year, on October 27,
shortly after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, due to his direct involvement in
the unprecedented ground attack. </p>
<p>The leader's unblemished career made him a force to reckon with by
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who
vowed to assassinate al-Arouri, to which he responded at the time,
saying, "The Israeli threat against me will not change my convictions,
and it will not have an impact on the path [that I have chosen]" in an
exclusive interview for <strong>Al Mayadeen</strong>.</p>
<p>His assassination triggered a <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/palestinian-resistance-factions-mourn-martyred-leader-saleh">wave of condemnations and promises for retaliation</a>,
specifically from Palestinian Resistance factions, shedding light on
the closely-knit relationship that al-Arouri had built with Palestinian
cadres and his irrefutable popularity among Palestinians.</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/exclusive---al-arouri:-resistance-axis-preparing-for-all-out">Exclusive - Al Arouri: Resistance Axis preparing for all-out war</a></strong></p></div></div></div>
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