Mohamed Zouari () (

Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...

, 1967 - 15 December 2016) was a Tunisian aerospace engineer working for The

Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB

, Hamas' military wing. He was assassinated in his hometown of

on December 15, 2016 when he was shot dead in a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

that has been widely attributed to the

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

.« Le Hamas accuse le Mossad du meurtre en Tunisie de l’un de ses cadres », ''Le Monde'', 18 décembre 2016
/ref>« Assassinat d’un expert en drones tunisien : l’ombre du Mossad », ''Libération'', 18 décembre 2016
/ref>
/ref>

Biography

Born and raised in

, Mohamed Zouari was one of the followers of the Islamic political party

Ennahdha The Ennahda Movement ( ar, حركة النهضة, Ḥarakatu n-Nahḍah; french: link=no, Mouvement Ennahdha), also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia. Foun ...

. He left Tunisia in 1991 to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

to escape the wave of political repression by the

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ( ar, زين العابدين بن علي, translit=Zayn al-'Ābidīn bin 'Alī; 3 September 1936 – 19 September 2019), commonly known as Ben Ali ( ar, بن علي) or Ezzine ( ar, الزين), was a Tunisian politician ...

regime. Having gained knowledge of

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

and of the design of drones, he joined the ranks of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

armed wing, where he supervised its unmanned aircraft manufacturing program,

Ababeel1 Ababeel1 shortcut "A1" (Arabic: أبابيل1) the first Palestinian reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), armed drone, made in Gaza by al-Qassam Brigades Industries, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). Types ...

. The unmanned aircraft developed in this program were first used on the battlefield during the Gaza war of 2014.« Mouvement Hamas : les sionistes sont bien derrière l’assassinat de Mohamed Zouari », ''Webmanagercenter'', 17 décembre 2016
/ref>« Les sionistes sont bien derrière l’assassinat de Mohamed Zouari, affirme la branche armée du Hamas », ''Agence Tunis Afrique Presse'', 17 décembre 2016
/ref> Zouari returned to Tunisia after the Tunisian Revolution.

Assassination

On December 15, 2016, after getting in his car and just about to drive away, a truck drove up and blocked the way. Two shooters opened fire with silenced firearms, firing about twenty shots. Zouari was mortally wounded, as three bullet hits to the chest turned out to be fatal. After the assassination, the surveillance system of a restaurant near the place of the assassination had its video recordings erased by an unknown external party.

confirmed Mohamed Zouari's membership of the

Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ( ar, كتائب الشهيد عز الدين القسام, , Battalions of martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam; also spelt Izzedine or Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades; often shortened to Al-Qassam Brigades, IQB

and the role he played in the development of the Ababil drone in a statement released on its website on December 17, 2016.« Qassam : le commandant Zouari a supervisé le projet des drones Ababil », ''Hamas'', 17 décembre 2016 (Arabic)
/ref> It also accused

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

of being behind the assassination and promised to avenge Zouari. The

Tunisian Government The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a Unitary state, unitary Semi-presidential system, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, with a President of Tunisia, President serving as head ...

announced that it will prosecute, both nationally and abroad, any person involved in Zouari's assassination.« Des représentants de la société civile au domicile de Mohamed Zouari pour présenter leurs condoléances », ''Agence Tunis Afrique Presse'', 18 décembre 2016
/ref> Asked about the assassination,

Israeli Defense Minister The Ministry of Defense ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַבִּטָּחוֹן, Misrad HaBitahon, Ministry of Security, acronym: he, משהב"ט) of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Isra ...

Avigdor Liberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Ministry of Finance (Israel), Minister of Finance since 2021, having prev ...

said that Israel would continue to defend its interests.« Lieberman sur l'assassinat en Tunisie : "Il n'a pas été un candidat pour le Prix Nobel de la Paix" », ''Yediot Aharonot'', 21 décembre 2016 (Hebrew)
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zouari, Mohamed 1967 births 2016 deaths Deaths by firearm in Tunisia People from Sfax Tunisian inventors Assassinated Tunisian people Hamas military members Hamas members Assassinated Hamas members

Biography

Assassination

See also

References