Sister of Hamas political leader Haniyeh arrested in southern Israel for terror support

Several of Hamas leaders' sisters live in Israeli Bedouin town near Beersheva

A sister of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’ politburo, was arrested by Israeli security forces in her residence in Tel Sheva, near the city of Beersheva on Sunday, Israel Police announced.

The initially unidentified 57-year-old woman, an Israeli citizen living in the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva, was arrested on suspicion of associating with and supporting Palestinian terrorists. The arrest involved a joint operation of extensive police forces, Border Police, Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency.

Israeli media reports later identified the woman as Zebah Abd al-Salem Haniyeh, one of Hamas leader's three sisters who are all married to Israeli Bedouin men and living in Israel.

During the operation, dubbed “Early Dawn,” security forces confiscated documents, electronic devices, and other evidence that indicated her involvement in “serious security offenses.”

Abd al-Salem Haniyeh is set to appear for a hearing at the Beersheva Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Last month, Israeli media reported that Haniyeh‘s niece, also a resident of Tel Sheva with Israeli citizenship, had given birth to a premature infant who was being treated at Soroka Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit.

Another of Haniyeh’s relatives was hospitalized in an Ichilov hospital in 2021, according to media reports.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir told Maariv, “Ismail Haniyeh’s relatives are not only not supposed to receive medical treatment in a hospital in Israel, they are also supposed to be deported from Israel.”

Sixty-two-year-old Ismail Haniyeh is originally from the Gaza Strip. currently lives in Qatar’s capital of Doha,

He is married and is the father of 13 children. He reportedly has two brothers and eight sisters, three of whom are married to Israeli Bedouins, have Israeli citizenship and live in Tel Sheva.