Nine months after being elected head of Hamas' political bureau in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar is still the talk of the town thanks to his bold decisions such as reconciliation with Fatah, his meeting with dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan and his growing rapprochement with Egypt. Many Palestinians now see Sinwar as a Palestinian national leader rather than a Hamas leader in Gaza.

Houssam Badran, a member of Hamas' political bureau based in Qatar, told Al-Monitor, “Hamas’ decisions are made by its Shura Councils and leading institutions, but each leader leaves his own fingerprint. Sinwar believes in institutional work within the movement, but he is dynamic, energetic and ready to take the initiative. When it comes to the movement’s general stance and reconciliation with Fatah, he never makes a decision without consulting with the entire leadership. Still, Sinwar is an effective and influential leader, and his position as the head of Hamas in Gaza gives him room to take action and impose his influence both internally and externally.”

Sinwar’s biography shows extensive leadership experience before Hamas was officially founded in 1987, and even before he founded the Gaza security apparatus in 1985 by order from the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Hamas originated. In prison, Sinwar headed the supreme leadership body for Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails between 1988 and 2011.

After his release in 2011, Sinwar was elected as a member of Hamas' political bureau and acted as a coordinator for its political and military wings. In 2015, he was made responsible for Israeli prisoners in Hamas jails.