France announced this Tuesday, December 5, the freezing of the assets of Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinouar. A largely symbolic sanction, but which illustrates the extent to which the attacks of October 7 highlighted the role of the man who is considered one of their architects. Nearly two months after these attacks which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, the person concerned has become the nightmare of the Israelis, while many Palestinians pay tribute to him.
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With our special envoys in Jerusalem, Nicolas Falez and Julien Boileau
Aged 61, leader of Hamas in Gaza returned to the forefront when hundreds of attackers from the Palestinian movement descended on kibbutzim, military bases and a rave party in Israel, leaving 1,200 dead.
Yahya Sinouar, the man who put the Palestinian question at the center of attention and who humiliated Israel? In any case, this is what many Palestinians met in recent days have expressed.
“ Yahya Sinouar understood the composition of the Israeli brain, consider this man, a resident of Hebron. When you only have a partial perception of your opponent, you cannot beat him or negotiate with him. »
The leader of Hamas in Gaza was able to enter “ the Israeli brain “, And ” thus, he was able to predict their intentions », adds our interlocutor. Yahya Sinouar is considered one of the masterminds attacks on October 7.
Even if Gaza is completely destroyed tomorrow, even if Hamas is eradicated tomorrow, today the Zionist entity is experiencing a real existential upheaval.
Do the violent fighting in recent hours in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, indicate that the Israeli army is getting closer to Hamas headquarters and Yahya Sinouar himself?
According to Israeli political scientist Ilan Greilsammer, the Hamas leader has become a priority target for the Jewish state. “ Ultimately, this organization will be dismantled. Sinouar will either flee, or be liquidated », he considers.
We cannot think, logically, that this is what he wanted. If he had read the Israelis well, if he had asked my opinion for example, I would have told him that an attack of this type would end with the liquidation of Hamas.
Yahia Sinouar spent more than 20 years in prison in Israel. He learned Hebrew there. He found his freedom as part of an exchange: 1,100 Palestinian detainees for an Israeli soldier held hostage in Gaza. Today, Hamas is holding 138 hostages.
What France decreed regarding the leader of Hamas in Gaza
“ France is working to dry up sources of financing » of Hamas, explained this Tuesday in a press release the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in Paris.
Concerning Mr. Sinouar, this means that the French government prohibits for six months the supply of “ economic resources » to the leader of the Palestinian movement.
The decree is dated November 30, 2023, but it came into force this Tuesday. The prohibition concerns “ any natural or legal person », Specify the Bercy services.
“ The funds and economic resources which belong to, are possessed, held or controlled by Mr. Yahya Sinouar (…) are subject to an asset freezing measure », stipulates the decree.
Although the person concerned “ does not have assets in France », specifies Paris, this decision constitutes a prerequisite “ for the adoption of an anti-terrorism freeze measure at European level “.
In a decree dated November 13, Paris already announced similar measures regarding Mohammed Deif, who heads Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam brigades.
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