Abu Samara was a the leader of Hamas in the West Bank during the 2010s.
Biography[]
Abu Samara was born in the West Bank of Palestine, and he rose in the ranks of Hamas before becoming the leader of its political wing in the West Bank. He became rivals with the arch-terrorist Taufiq Hammed, who frequently disrespected Abu Samara's authority, including by refusing to hand over the capture Israeli soldier Boaz Capon in 2015. Abu Samara authorized Walid al-Abed to assassinate Hammed to punish his insubordination, but, by 2018, he faced a similar threat from Abu Seif al-Makdasi, an ISIL-trained terrorist who saw Abu Samara as a "traitor" for cutting deals with the Israelis and pursuing a moderate approach to the Palestinian nationalist struggle.
That same year, he was arrested by Israeli Mista'arvim counter-terrorism operatives and interrogated by Shin Bet captain Gabi Ayub. He was interrogated for his knowledge about Makdasi, and he was threatened with the publication of incriminating photos of himself with his mistress (the wife of his imprisoned comrade Samir Taha) on Al Arabiya News unless he cooperated with the Israelis. He revealed that Makdasi did whatever he wanted, and he called Hamas "traitors"; he revealed that he had shut Makdasi out of Hamas, and that the Israelis had to act fast before his ISIL friends did so first. Ayub had Abu Samara contact Makdasi and offer him Walid al-Abed's title as Hamas' military commander in the West Bank, setting a trap for the ISIL leader.
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