Husam Badran

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Husam Badran, born January 11, 1966, is the former leader of Hamas’s military wing in the northern West Bank. During the Second Intifada, he helped plan several suicide bombings, including the Dolphinarium discotheque attack in Tel Aviv in 2001, which killed 21 people. He was involved in other deadly attacks such as the Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem, the Park Hotel Passover bombing in Netanya (2002), and the Matza restaurant bombing in Haifa. More than 100 people were killed in attacks linked to him. He was arrested in 2002 during Israel’s Defensive Shield operation, sentenced to 17 years in 2004, and released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, after which he was expelled to Qatar.

Since then, Badran has worked as Hamas’s international spokesperson, using Twitter, Facebook, and news media to convey Hamas positions and to advocate violence against Israelis. He lives in Doha, Qatar, and is originally from Nablus. The Israeli Defense Forces say he has sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas in the West Bank to fund attacks, and that he has announced Qatar’s ongoing financial support for Hamas.