View source for Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi

{{Short description|Palestinian political leader (1947–2004)}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi
| native_name         = {{Nobold|{{lang|ar|عبد العزيز الرنتيسي}}}}
| image               = Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi (cropped).png
| caption             = Portrait of Al-Rantisi at the [[Shatila refugee camp]], 2019
| office              = [[Chairman of the Hamas Shura Council]]
| term_start          = 22 March 2004
| term_end            = 17 April 2004
| deputy              = 
| predecessor         = [[Ahmed Yassin]]
| successor           = 
| office1             = [[List of leaders of Hamas|Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Shura Council]]
| term_start1         = 10 December 1987
| term_end1           = 22 March 2004
| predecessor1        = ''Position created''
| successor1          = 
| birthname           = Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1947|10|23|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Yibna]], [[Ramle Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Ramle]], [[Mandatory Palestine]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|2004|04|17|1947|10|23|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Gaza City]], [[Gaza Strip]], [[Palestinian territories]]
| death_cause         = [[Assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi|Assassination]] by airstrike
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| alma_mater          = [[Alexandria University]]
| spouse              = [[Jamila Abdallah Taha al-Shanti]]
}}
{{Palestinian leaders}} {{Hamas history| image = [[File:Hamas flag2.png|100px|center]] | top = Flag of Hamas }}

'''Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi''' ({{langx|ar|عبد العزيز الرنتيسي}}{{ltr}}; 23 October 1947 – 17 April 2004) was a Palestinian political leader and co-founder of [[Hamas]], along with Sheikh [[Ahmed Yassin]] in 1987. He also served as the [[chairman of the Hamas Shura Council]] from March 2004 until [[Assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi|his assassination]] in April 2004 and the first [[List of leaders of Hamas|deputy chairman of the Hamas Shura Council]] from December 1987 until March 2004.

Rantisi was born in [[Yibna]], [[Mandatory Palestine]] in 1947. During the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]], his family [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|fled or were expelled]] by Zionist militias to the [[Gaza Strip]]. In 1956, when he was nine, Israeli soldiers killed his uncle in front of him in [[Khan Younis]], which he stated had a lifelong impact on him. He studied [[pediatrics|pediatric medicine]] and [[genetics]] at [[Alexandria University]] in [[Egypt]], graduating first in his class; during that time he became a member of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. In 1976, he returned to Gaza to teach [[parasitology]] and [[genetics]] at the [[Islamic University of Gaza]].

During the [[First Intifada]] against the [[Israeli occupied territories|Israeli occupation]] in 1988, he became a popular organizer and a leader whose efforts helped the formation of Hamas. Rantisi became Hamas's political leader and spokesman in the Gaza Strip following the Israeli killing of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March 2004.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/israel/Story/0,,1194569,00.html|work=The Guardian|location=London|title=Israeli missile attack kills new Hamas chief|first=Conal|last=Urquhart|date=18 April 2004|access-date=26 June 2024}}</ref> Rantisi opposed compromise with Israel and called for the creation of a [[Palestinian state]] (including the whole of the State of Israel) through military action against Israel.

On 17 April 2004, the [[Israeli Air Force]] [[targeted killing|assassinated]] al-Rantisi by firing [[Hellfire missiles]] from an [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64 Apache]] helicopter at his car.

==Early life and education==
Rantisi was born in [[Yibna]], near [[Ramle Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Ramle]] in [[Mandatory Palestine]] on 23 October 1947. During the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]], his family [[1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight|fled or were expelled]] by Zionist militias to the [[Gaza Strip]]. In 1956, when he was eight or nine, he witnessed the [[Khan Yunis massacre]], in which Israeli soldiers killed hundreds of Palestinians in the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Gaza: A History|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=97|author-link=Jean-Pierre Filiu |first=Jean-Pierre |last=Filiu}}</ref> During the massacre, al-Rantisi recalled that Israeli soldiers killed his uncle in front of him — as he explained to [[Joe Sacco]], this fact was very important for his future life.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sacco|first=Joe|title=Footnotes in Gaza|url=https://archive.org/details/footnotesingaza0000sacc|url-access=registration|year=2009|publisher=Metropolitan Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8050-7347-8}}</ref> He studied [[pediatrics|pediatric medicine]] and [[genetics]] at [[Egypt]]'s, [[Alexandria University]], graduating first in his class. He was a certified physician. During his time in Egypt, he became a deeply convicted member of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. In 1976, Rantisi returned to Gaza to teach [[parasitology]] and [[genetics]] at the [[Islamic University of Gaza|Islamic University]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2977816.stm|work=BBC News|title=Profile: Hamas leader Rantisi| date=17 April 2004|access-date=26 June 2024}}</ref>

==History with Hamas==
In 1987, four Palestinian civilians of the Jabalya refugee camp were killed in a traffic accident that involved Israeli settlers and soldiers. Rantisi joined Sheikh [[Ahmad Yassin]] and [[Salah Shehadeh]], among others, encouraging people to protest the occupation, after mosque services. This was the start of the [[First Intifada]], which lasted five years. Rantisi became a popular organizer and leader whose efforts helped the formation of [[Hamas]].
<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/dr-abdel-aziz-rantisi-38342.html |work=The Independent |location=London, UK |title=Dr Abdel Aziz Rantisi |date=19 April 2004 |access-date=15 August 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=27 Oct 2009 |title=Rantisi: A Life Lived, Ended for Palestinian Cause - 2004-04-18 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2004-04-18-12-1-66344632/545180.html |access-date=15 Aug 2023 |website=Voice of America}}</ref>
In December 1992, Rantissi was deported to southern [[Lebanon]], as part of the expulsion of 416 Hamas and [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] operatives, and emerged as the general spokesman of the expellees.<ref name=therald>{{cite news|title=Israel shelling near camp|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ik9FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1bsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5819,823040&dq=abdulaziz+rantisi&hl=en|newspaper=The Telegraph Herald|date=4 January 1994|agency=Associated Press|location=Lebanon}}</ref>

On 8 June 2003, he directed a Hamas-led attack in which four Israeli soldiers were killed at the [[Erez Crossing]] in the Gaza Strip. On 10 June 2003, Rantisi survived an Israeli helicopter attack on a car in which he was traveling.<ref name=abc1063>{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Tony|title=Hamas leader survives assassination attempt|url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2003/s876632.htm|access-date=15 December 2012|newspaper=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=10 June 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419044030/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2003/s876632.htm|archive-date=19 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was lightly wounded in the attack, which killed one of his bodyguards, a civilian, and wounded at least 25 others.<ref name=un>{{cite web|title=Identical letters dated 10 June 2003 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council |url=https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/6466EA5918CD99FF85256D430052B9F8 |publisher=UN |access-date=17 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419030953/http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/6466EA5918CD99FF85256D430052B9F8 |archive-date=19 April 2014 |date=10 June 2003}}</ref> Rantisi also reportedly threatened, while in his bed in [[Al-Shifa Hospital]], "not a single Jew in Palestine is safe" and "kill Israeli political leaders, because all of them are killers".<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff Reporter |title='Not a single Jew in Palestine is safe' |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2003-06-10-not-a-single-jew-in-palestine-is-safe/ |work=The Mail & Guardian |date=10 June 2003 |language=en-ZA}}</ref>

On 23 March 2004, Rantisi was named leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, following the killing of [[Ahmed Yassin]] by Israeli forces. On 27 March 2004, Rantisi addressed 5,000 supporters in [[Gaza City|Gaza]]. He declared the then-US President [[George W. Bush]] to be an "enemy of Muslims" and asserted that "America declared war against God. Sharon declared war against God and God declared war against America, Bush and Sharon. The war of God continues against them and I can see the victory coming up from the land of Palestine by the hand of Hamas."<ref name=cnn04>{{cite news|title=New Hamas leader: Bush is 'enemy of Muslims'|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/28/mideast.conflict/index.html|access-date=26 June 2024|newspaper=CNN|date=6 May 2004|location=Gaza City}}</ref>

==Assassination==
{{main|Assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi}}

On 17 April 2004, Rantisi was [[Assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi|assassinated]] by the [[Israeli Air Force]], when they fired [[Hellfire missiles]] from an [[AH-64 Apache]] helicopter at his car. Two others, a bodyguard (named Akram Nassar), and Rantisi's 27-year-old son Mohammed, were also killed in the attack, and four bystanders wounded. [[Israeli army radio]] stated that this was the first opportunity to target Rantisi, without significant [[collateral damage]], since he took the leadership of Hamas,<ref name="wwwisraelnncom4">{{cite web|url=http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=60974|title=Surgical Strike Not a Retaliatory Action |work=Artuz Sheva |date=17 April 2004|access-date=18 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129032450/http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=60974|archive-date=29 November 2005 }}</ref> alleging that he had surrounded himself with [[human shield]]s since the killing of Yassin.<ref name="Plaw2008">{{cite book|first=Avery |last=Plaw|title=Targeting Terrorists: A License to Kill?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lrLGaUvJfykC&pg=PA77|year=2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-4526-9|page=77}}</ref>

===Reactions===
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman [[Jonathan Peled]] stated:
: "Israel...today struck a mastermind of terrorism, with blood on his hands. As long as the [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]] does not lift a finger and fight terrorism, Israel will continue to have to do so itself."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YlsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xucFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3163,4724148|work=Lawrence Journal-World |via=Google News Archive Search |title=Israeli attack kills leader of Hamas |first=Michael |last=Matza |date=18 April 2004}}</ref>

British Foreign Minister [[Jack Straw]] condemned the action:
: "The British government has made it repeatedly clear that so-called 'targeted assassinations' of this kind are unlawful, unjustified and counter-productive."<ref>{{cite news|title=UK condemns Hamas leader killing|date=18 April 2004|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3636179.stm|access-date=26 June 2024 |work=BBC}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Rantisi was married to [[Jamila Abdallah Taha al-Shanti]], who was elected to the [[Palestinian Legislative Council]] in 2006, and who was herself assassinated in 2023; they had six children.<ref name=merip04>{{cite journal|last=Seitz|first=Charmaine|title=A New Kind of Killing|journal=MERIP|date=30 March 2004|url=http://www.merip.org/mero/mero033004|access-date=26 June 2024}}</ref>

== Writings ==
Al-Rantisi's political writings and poems were widely published in Arabic newspapers and on his personal website.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Alshaer |first=Atef |title=The Poetry of Hamas |journal=[[Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication]] |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=214–230 |date=September 2009 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233524457_The_Poetry_of_Hamas |access-date=11 June 2025}}</ref>
Among his books we find ''Memoirs of the Martyr Dr. Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi'', compiled by Amer Shamakh, which offers insights into his personal experiences, ideological beliefs, and the events that shaped his role in the Palestinian resistance.<ref name="All4Palestine">{{Cite web |title=Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi |url=https://www.all4palestine.org/ModelDetails.aspx?gid=14&mid=78083&lang=en |access-date=5 June 2025 |website=All4Palestine |language=en}}</ref>

== Legacy ==

The [[Al-Rantisi Hospital|Al-Rantisi]] Pediatric Hospital, in Gaza City, is named after him. It provided treatment for cancer and kidney failure.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gaza's Al-Rantisi Hospital goes out of service, leaving 38 children with kidney failure in danger |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/gazas-al-rantisi-hospital-goes-out-of-service-leaving-38-children-with-kidney-failure-in-danger/3049210 |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Feature: Cancer patients in Gaza suffer painful treatment journey - Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/31/c_138270696.htm |access-date=16 August 2024 |work=www.xinhuanet.com |date=2019-07-31}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Al-Rantisi Hospital]]
* [[Jamila Abdallah Taha al-Shanti]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=307153&contrassID=2&subContrassID=15&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y What the doctor orders – Interview by Amira Hass] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001002849/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=307153&contrassID=2&subContrassID=15&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y |date=1 October 2007 }} ([[Haaretz]])

{{Hamas leaders}}
{{Hamas}}
{{Targeted killing by Israel}}
{{Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rantisi, Abdel Aziz}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:Hamas leaders]]
[[Category:Palestinian Muslims]]
[[Category:Assassinated Palestinian politicians]]
[[Category:People from the Gaza Strip]]
[[Category:Palestinian pediatricians]]
[[Category:Alexandria University alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Islamic University of Gaza]]
[[Category:Palestinian nationalists]]
[[Category:Assassinated Hamas members]]
[[Category:20th-century Palestinian physicians]]
[[Category:History of Hamas]]
[[Category:Hamas members]]
[[Category:Anti-Americanism]]
[[Category:Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s]]
[[Category:2000s murders in Palestine]]
[[Category:Palestinian expatriates in Egypt]]
[[Category:Arab people in Mandatory Palestine]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 2004]]
[[Category:Deaths by Israeli airstrikes]]
[[Category:People of the Second Intifada]]