Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook

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Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook
موسى محمد أبو مرزوق
Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau
In office
1997 – present
Personal details
Born (1951-01-09) 9 January 1951 (age 62)
Rafah, Gaza Strip
Political party Hamas
Islamic Association of Palestine
Residence New Cairo, Egypt[1]
Alma mater Ain Shams University
Colorado State University
Louisiana Tech University
Profession Engineer
Religion Sunni Islam

Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook (Arabic: موسى محمد أبو مرزوق‎; born 9 January 1951, Rafah, Gaza Strip) is a Palestinian senior member of Hamas.

Contents

Early life and education[edit]

Marzook's parents were from Yibna, Mandatory Palestine (now Yavne, Israel).[2] They became refugees after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and were forced to move to the Rafah camp in the Gaza Strip.[2] Marzook was born there on 9 January 1951.[2] He completed high school in Gaza, studied engineering in Cairo until 1976, and then looked for work in the Persian Gulf.[2] He continued his studies in the U.S. obtaining a master’s degree in construction management from Colorado State University and a doctorate in industrial engineering from Louisiana Tech.[2][3] At Louisiana Tech, Marzook conducted research on the use of bar codes, but one of his professors told the Washington Post that "he was not a bright student" and the school noted that he received a number of incomplete grades.[4]

Hamas Involvement[edit]

Marzook has been active in the Islamic political work since 1968, Marzook played a significant role in reorganizing Hamas after the mass arrest of its members in 1989. Israeli journalist Shlomi Eldar credits Abu Marzook's fundraising prowess, and his connections to Muslim donors in the US and Europe with saving the organization and developing its infrastructure in Gaza, including social service programs. Israel claims that some funds were used for attacks against Israel, a charge that Abu Marzouk denies.[3] Abu Marzook was elected to be the first Hamas political bureau chief in 1992, and since 1997 has been deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau.[5] Marzook founded the Islamic Association of Palestine.[6]

Exile[edit]

Marzook began to live in Jordan and his stay there lasted from 1998 to 2001.[7] Then he began to live in Damascus, Syria in 2001.[7] As of 2012, Marzook lives in New Cairo, Egypt.[1]

Arrest[edit]

In the mid-1990s Marzook was arrested in JFK airport with no formal charges placed against him. Two months after his detainment, Israel filed a request for the USA to extradite him. With the legal council of a Jewish lawyer by the name of Stanley L. Cohen,[8] he spent the following 2 years fighting his case in the court system, but the final decision was for his extradition, after which Israel dropped its extradition request. With no formal charges against him the United States released him, but not wanting him to remain, the U.S. contacted numerous Arab countries to allow Marzook residency. All refused, except Jordan, which reportedly agreed under U.S. pressure.[citation needed] Cohen continues to legally represent Marzook.[1]

Criminal Charges[edit]

Marzook was listed as a Specially Designated Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1995, and is currently on the renamed Treasury department Specially Designated National list under such alternative spellings of his name as Dr. Musa Abu-Marzuq, Sa'id Abu-Marzuq, Mousa Mohamed Abou Marzook, Musa Abu Marzouk, and Musa Abu Marzuk, and under the alias "Abu-'Umar."[9]

In 2002, a federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment against Marzook for conspiring to violate U.S. laws that prohibit dealings in terrorist funds. The indictment alleged that Marzook had conspired with the Richardson, Texas-based InfoCom Corporation and five of its employees to hide his financial transactions with the computer company. He allegedly invested $250,000 in InfoCom, with Infocom to make payments to Marzook based on the company's net profits or losses.[10] In 2004, a U.S. court indicted him in absentia for coordinating and financing Hamas activities.[11]

Interview with The Forward[edit]

In April 2012, Marzook gave what was billed as his "first-ever interview with a Jewish publication".[1] The Forward requested the interview which took place over two days at Marzook’s home in New Cairo, Egypt.[1][3] The Forward published responses to the interview from eight "prominent observers of the Middle East peace process", Laura Kam of The Israel Project, Israeli security analyst Yossi Alpher, Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now, Princeton University Professor Daoud Kuttab, Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, Arab-American activist Hussein Ibish, David Keyes of Advancing Human Rights and political scientist Nathan Brown.[12][13]

Operation Cloud Pillar, Hebrew name: מבצע עמוד ענן[edit]

Following operation "Cloud Pillar" that began on November 14, 2012, Moussa Abu Marzouk talked to the Associated Press. He told them that the Islamic militant group won't stop making weapons in Gaza or smuggling them to the territory.[14]

According to the Associated Press, Moussa Abu Marzouk is the No 2 leader in Hamas.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "How Historic Interview Was Arranged". The Forward. 19 April 2012. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "Senior Hamas leader: Israel exists". Ynet. 20 February 2006. 
  3. ^ a b c Larry Cohler-Esses (19 April 2012). "Hamas Wouldn’t Honor a Treaty, Top Leader Says". The Forward. 
  4. ^ Hall, Charles; O'Harrow Jr., Robert (8 August 1995). "Virginia Man Suspected of Terrorism Known for Anonymity". The Washington Post. p. B01. 
  5. ^ Profile on Islam Online website
  6. ^ United States Senate official website
  7. ^ a b Baghdadi, George (10 December 2001). "Hamas is Still Defiant". Time (Damascus). Retrieved 17 November 2012. 
  8. ^ "Hamas’ Political Chief Has Jewish Lawyer." Algemeiner. 20 April 2012. 29 April 2012.
  9. ^ [SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS AND BLOCKED PERSONS http://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/t11sdn.pdf OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL, 4 April 2011]
  10. ^ U.S. Department of Justice info. on InfoCom Corporation
  11. ^ U.S. indictment in absentia for Hamas activities
  12. ^ "Reading Hamas". The Forward. 29 April 2012. 
  13. ^ "Reading Hamas II". The Forward. 30 April 2012. 
  14. ^ Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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