Who Is Zaher Jabarin?
A senior Hamas terror leader, Zaher Jabarin is widely regarded as the architect behind the organization’s political and financial operations in Judea and Samaria, functioning as the strategic mastermind of its terrorist infrastructure. He is identified as the head of the pro-Iranian faction within Hamas and has long benefited from the patronage and protection of the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned government in Ankara.
3+The Most Influential Figure in Hamas
Senior Hamas leader Zaher Jabarin is a hardline Islamist and a jihadist ideologue. Many observers today regard him as one of the most dangerous and sophisticated figures within Hamas’s leadership. In this context, his radical statements on Qatar’s Al Jazeera network provide significant insight into his worldview, as he regularly appears as a featured guest presenting himself as a representative of a jihadist movement rooted in the ideological tradition of the Muslim Brotherhood.
A Call for Escalation
Recently, Jabarin reiterated in interviews with media outlets affiliated with the so-called “Axis of Resistance” his personal commitment, and that of Hamas as a whole, to avenge those killed in the confrontation with Israel. He also reaffirmed the movement’s unwavering commitment to the issue of ‘Palestinian’ security prisoners, a cause that has long occupied a central place in ‘Palestinian’ national discourse. In his remarks, he emphasized the need to do everything possible to secure their release.
From a national security perspective, such statements should be viewed as more than mere rhetoric. They may foreshadow a renewed campaign of terrorism across Judea and Samaria, including attempts by Hamas’s armed networks to kidnap Israeli soldiers or civilians.
In this context, particular attention should be paid to the Hebron district, which has traditionally served as both an ideological and operational stronghold of Hamas. This is especially significant because, unlike the extensive military campaign conducted against terrorist infrastructure in northern Samaria during the prolonged war in the Gaza Strip, Hebron did not undergo a comparable level of sustained counterterrorism pressure. As a result, the area continues to represent a potential hub for Hamas activity, while the strongholds in northern Samaria have been more closely associated with the military infrastructure of ‘Palestinian’ Islamic Jihad.
The Pro-Iranian Camp
In recent days, Jabarin has reportedly been engaged in intensive political lobbying aimed at securing the election of Dr. Khalil al-Hayya as head of Hamas’s terror group, which they call a ‘Political Bureau.’ To this end, he has sought to leverage his political influence among the movement’s supporters and activists within his sphere of authority in Judea and Samaria.
3+The objective was clear: to consolidate support for Hamas’s pro-Iranian camp, which views itself as an integral component of the Iranian-led “Axis of Resistance” and remains closely aligned with the strategic vision of Iran’s revolutionary leadership.
From Salfit to Hamas Leadership
To understand the profile of a leading Hamas terror figure such as Zaher Jabarin, it is essential to examine the origins of his rise. Unlike other prominent Hamas leaders, including Yahya Sinwar and Khaled Mashal, Jabarin has never enjoyed broad public prominence or widespread popular appeal.
A native of the town of Salfit in central Judea and Samaria, Jabarin was among the founding members of Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in Judea and Samaria during the early 1990s, at the height of the First Intifada.
The Early Years of Militancy
According to Israeli accounts, Jabarin recruited Yahya Ayyash, later known as “The Engineer,” into Hamas while both were students at Birzeit University. Together with Mahmoud Issa, he was also implicated in the 1992 abduction and killing of Israeli Border Police officer Nissim Toledano.
In addition, alongside Ayyash and Abd al-Hakim al-Anani, one of his close associates, Jabarin was involved operationally in Hamas’s first suicide bombing, carried out at Mehola Junction in the northern Jordan Valley in the spring of 1993, shortly before the Oslo peace process.
Following his arrest, Jabarin was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in militant activities. He was released in the autumn of 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit terror-prisoner-for-Jewish-hostage exchange agreement.
Exile in Turkey and the Istanbul Headquarters
Following his release, Jabarin was deported to Turkey, where he found political refuge under the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. From there, together with a number of senior Hamas operatives, including Jihad Yaghmour from East Jerusalem and Sheikh Abd al-Rahman Rneimat from the Hebron-area town of Surif, he worked alongside Saleh al-Arouri in Istanbul to establish Hamas’s “Judea and Samaria Headquarters.”
3+The body has often been described by analysts as one of the movement’s principal operational centers for activity in Judea and Samaria, and as a faction maintaining particularly close ties with Iran and the so-called “Axis of Resistance.”
The 2014 Judea and Samaria Plot
In the summer of 2014, operating from Istanbul, Jabarin and al-Arouri were reported to have overseen Hamas cells in Judea and Samaria in what Israeli security officials described as an attempt to destabilize or overthrow the ‘Palestinian’ Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas.
The alleged objective was to replicate, on a smaller scale, Hamas’s violent 2007 takeover of the Gaza Strip, during which fierce fighting erupted between Hamas and Fatah.
The Successor to Saleh al-Arouri
Following Israel’s assassination of Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut’s Dahieh district in early 2024, Jabarin traveled to Lebanon to participate in the funeral of his longtime commander and close associate.
In the aftermath of al-Arouri’s death, many analysts assessed that Jabarin’s influence within Hamas increased substantially, with him emerging as the natural successor to al-Arouri’s role in overseeing the movement’s Judea and Samaria portfolio.
Negotiator and Prisoners’ Portfolio
Today, Jabarin is responsible for Hamas’s prisoners’ portfolio and has played a central role in the organization’s negotiations in Doha and Cairo. Alongside Dr. Khalil al-Hayya and Dr. Ghazi Hamad, he has been among the senior Hamas officials involved in discussions concerning hostage and prisoner exchanges, with particular emphasis on securing the release of long-serving ‘Palestinian’ murderes from Judea and Samaria, including Abbas al-Sayed, Abdullah al-Barghouti, and Ibrahim Hamed, all of whom are regarded by many ‘Palestinians’ as prominent national figures.
Approximately a year ago, Jabarin reportedly survived an alleged Israeli assassination attempt in Doha, together with several other senior Hamas officials. According to Israeli security assessments, he remains one of the movement’s principal strategists, directing Hamas’s political, financial, and operational networks from bases in Istanbul and Beirut through senior operatives active across the region.
The Ideological Foundations
To understand Jabarin’s role as a jihadist ideologue and a senior Hamas figure shaped by the ideological teachings of Sheikh Hassan al-Banna and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, it is essential to examine the ideological foundations that define his rhetoric and political worldview.
Jabarin’s statements reflect the broader ideological framework of Hamas, a movement founded upon the principles of the Muslim Brotherhood and committed to a religious-nationalist vision that has shaped its political and military activities for decades.
Jabarin’s Declaration
As Jabarin himself declared: “We pledge to our martyred leaders to continue along the same path. Assassination attempts will neither intimidate us nor break our resolve. We are prepared to pay any price for the freedom of our people and for their legitimate rights”
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