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'The fact that he lived in a five-star hotel in Doha made him very unpopular with some of the Hamas figures on the ground in Gaza,' Dr Andreas Krieg, associate professor of Security Studies at King's College London, told MailOnline today.'He's not someone who the organisation is relying on very much. But it is clearly a very symbolic strike.'
Haniyeh has been a disposable member of Hamas, both for Hamas and everyone else, for some time. He's not Sinwar. He is something of a political figurehead,' explained Dr Krieg.
'He has been residing in Qatar for over a decade. He has been out of touch with Gaza because he couldn't return... He is someone who even for the Iranians is disposable.'
Dr Krieg said Haniyeh was not significant in the peace talks, but that Netanyahu could now use his death to win leverage within Israel and steer towards a peace settlement.
'The countries leading the talks have significant relations with both sides and don't require figureheads,' he said.
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'Hamas will probably not want to reward Israel with concessions at this point, but Netanyahu could use this to build a victory narrative.'
'The strategic calculus of all the parties involved has fundamentally changed,' Dr Krieg told MailOnline.
'All sides don't want all out war. All sides want to maintain their reputation. Nobody wants to lose face. These people are replaceable.
'All sides will find a way in this tit-for-tat escalation to respond in measure beyond a certain ceiling... all sides have been pushing the threshold but on all accounts they have always tried not to breach it.'
| Period | 31 Jul 2024 |
|---|---|
| Held at | Daily Mail, United Kingdom |
Keywords
- Hamas
- Haniyeh
- Iran