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Jamila al-Shanti
Palestinian politician (1955–2023) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jamila Abdallah Taha al-Shanti (Arabic: جميلة عبد الله طه الشنطي; 15 March 1955 – 19 October 2023) was a Palestinian politician who was a member of Hamas who had previously been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. She was killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza on 19 October 2023, during the Gaza war.[1][2][3]
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Early life and education
Al-Shanti was born on 15 March 1955.[4] She held a PhD in English.[5][4]
Career
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Al-Shanti was a member of Hamas and was the founder of the group's women's division.[6]
She taught at the Islamic University in Gaza until 2006.[5]
On 3 November 2006 she led an unarmed women's march that succeeded in breaking an Israeli siege on a mosque in the town of Beit Hanoun.[7] The Israeli military opened fire on the group, describing them as "human shields", one was killed and ten were wounded.[8]
In the 2006 Palestinian legislative election she was the third candidate on the Hamas-led Change and Reform electoral list.[5] She was the most senior woman among Hamas deputies elected in 2006 and became minister in 2011.[6][4] She worked as a faculty member at the Islamic University in Gaza, and was the wife (later widow) of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.[4]
In 2006 she claimed that an air strike aimed at her head instead killed her sister-in-law and over a dozen other people.[9] International media confirmed that there had been an air strike on al-Shanti's home and that it killed Nahla Shanti and Abdel Majid Ghirbawi.[10]
In 2021, al-Shanti (then aged 64) was elected as a member of Hamas' political bureau. The 15-member group is Hamas' highest decision-making body.[11][12] She was the first woman ever to hold such a position in Hamas.[12]
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Death
On 19 October 2023, during the Gaza war, al-Shanti was killed in an Israeli air strike,[1][7][2][3] on her home in the Gaza Strip.[7] France 24 listed her as one of the "key figures on Israel's hit list".[13]
References
External links
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