Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi (; 23 October 1947 – 17 April 2004) was a Palestinian political leader and co-founder of

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

, along with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987. He also served as the chairman of the Hamas Shura Council from March 2004 until his assassination in April 2004 and the first deputy chairman of the Hamas Shura Council from December 1987 until March 2004. Rantisi was born in

Yibna Yibna (; ''Jabneh'' or ''Jabneel'' in Biblical times; ''Jamnia'' in Roman empire, Roman times; ''Lordship of Ibelin, Ibelin'' to the Crusades, Crusaders), or Tel Yavne, is an archaeological site and List of villages depopulated during the Arab– ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in 1947. During the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, his family fled or were expelled by Zionist militias to the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. In 1956, when he was nine, Israeli soldiers killed his uncle in front of him in

Khan Younis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan ...

, which he stated had a lifelong impact on him. He studied pediatric medicine and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

Alexandria University Alexandria University () is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an independent entity in 1942. It was known as ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, graduating first in his class; during that time he became a member of the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

. In 1976, he returned to Gaza to teach

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...

and

at the Islamic University of Gaza. During the

First Intifada The First Intifada (), also known as the First Palestinian Intifada, was a sustained series of Nonviolent resistance, non-violent protests, acts of civil disobedience, Riot, riots, and Terrorism, terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians ...

against the

Israeli occupation Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

in 1988, he became a popular organizer and a leader whose efforts helped the formation of Hamas. Rantisi became Hamas's political leader and spokesman in the Gaza Strip following the Israeli killing of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March 2004. Rantisi opposed compromise with Israel and called for the creation of a

Palestinian state Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, collectively known as th ...

(including the whole of the State of Israel) through military action against Israel. On 17 April 2004, the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

assassinated al-Rantisi by firing Hellfire missiles from an AH-64 Apache helicopter at his car.

Early life and education

Rantisi was born in

, near Ramle in

on 23 October 1947. During the

, his family fled or were expelled by Zionist militias to the

. In 1956, when he was eight or nine, he witnessed the Khan Yunis massacre, in which Israeli soldiers killed hundreds of Palestinians in the

. During the massacre, al-Rantisi recalled that Israeli soldiers killed his uncle in front of him — as he explained to

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is credited as the first artist to practice rigorous, investigative journalism using the comics form, also referred to as comics journalism. His groundbrea ...

, this fact was very important for his future life. He studied pediatric medicine and

's,

, graduating first in his class. He was a certified physician. During his time in Egypt, he became a deeply convicted member of the

. In 1976, Rantisi returned to Gaza to teach

and

at the Islamic University.

History with Hamas

In 1987, four Palestinian civilians of the Jabalya refugee camp were killed in a traffic accident that involved Israeli settlers and soldiers. Rantisi joined Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Salah Shehadeh, among others, encouraging people to protest the occupation, after mosque services. This was the start of the

, which lasted five years. Rantisi became a popular organizer and leader whose efforts helped the formation of

. In December 1992, Rantissi was deported to southern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, as part of the expulsion of 416 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives, and emerged as the general spokesman of the expellees. On 8 June 2003, he directed a Hamas-led attack in which four Israeli soldiers were killed at the Erez Crossing in the Gaza Strip. On 10 June 2003, Rantisi survived an Israeli helicopter attack on a car in which he was traveling. He was lightly wounded in the attack, which killed one of his bodyguards, a civilian, and wounded at least 25 others. Rantisi also reportedly threatened, while in his bed in Al-Shifa Hospital, "not a single Jew in Palestine is safe" and "kill Israeli political leaders, because all of them are killers". On 23 March 2004, Rantisi was named leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, following the killing of Ahmed Yassin by Israeli forces. On 27 March 2004, Rantisi addressed 5,000 supporters in Gaza. He declared the then-US President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to be an "enemy of Muslims" and asserted that "America declared war against God. Sharon declared war against God and God declared war against America, Bush and Sharon. The war of God continues against them and I can see the victory coming up from the land of Palestine by the hand of Hamas."

Assassination

On 17 April 2004, Rantisi was assassinated by the

, when they fired Hellfire missiles from an AH-64 Apache helicopter at his car. Two others, a bodyguard (named Akram Nassar), and Rantisi's 27-year-old son Mohammed, were also killed in the attack, and four bystanders wounded. Israeli army radio stated that this was the first opportunity to target Rantisi, without significant

collateral damage "Collateral damage" is a term for any incidental and undesired death, injury or other damage inflicted, especially on civilians, as the result of an activity. Originally coined to describe military operations, it is now also used in non-milit ...

, since he took the leadership of Hamas, alleging that he had surrounded himself with human shields since the killing of Yassin.

Reactions

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled stated: : "Israel...today struck a mastermind of terrorism, with blood on his hands. As long as the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

does not lift a finger and fight terrorism, Israel will continue to have to do so itself." British Foreign Minister

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

condemned the action: : "The British government has made it repeatedly clear that so-called 'targeted assassinations' of this kind are unlawful, unjustified and counter-productive."

Personal life

Rantisi was married to Jamila Abdallah Taha al-Shanti, who was elected to the

Palestinian Legislative Council The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinians, Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the Wes ...

in 2006, and who was herself assassinated in 2023; they had six children.

Writings

Al-Rantisi's political writings and poems were widely published in Arabic newspapers and on his personal website. Among his books we find ''Memoirs of the Martyr Dr. Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi'', compiled by Amer Shamakh, which offers insights into his personal experiences, ideological beliefs, and the events that shaped his role in the Palestinian resistance.

Legacy

The Al-Rantisi Pediatric Hospital, in Gaza City, is named after him. It provided treatment for cancer and kidney failure.

References

External links

What the doctor orders – Interview by Amira Hass
(

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rantisi, Abdel Aziz 1947 births 2004 deaths Hamas leaders Palestinian Muslims Assassinated Palestinian politicians People from the Gaza Strip Palestinian pediatricians Alexandria University alumni Academic staff of the Islamic University of Gaza Palestinian nationalists Assassinated Hamas members 20th-century Palestinian physicians History of Hamas Hamas members Anti-Americanism Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s 2000s murders in Palestine Palestinian expatriates in Egypt Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Politicians assassinated in 2004 Deaths by Israeli airstrikes People of the Second Intifada