Haniyah was born in Ramallah, Palestine, in 1953. He earned a bachelor's degree in English literature at Cairo University in 1975.[2]
Exile
In November 1986, he was arrested by Israeli forces with the goal of deporting him to Jordan under Israel Defense ForcesCentral Command orders. An IDF spokesperson described him as an extremist who agitated for "hostile activity in Judaea, Samaria and elsewhere" and was a key Fatah activist.[3] Haniyah was not formally charged with any crime.[4]
The deportation order provoked widespread discontent among Palestinian journalists and academics.[5] The International Federation of Journalists petitioned Prime Minister of IsraelYitzhak Shamir to cancel the deportation.[6]The Jerusalem Post published an editorial claiming that the deportation would please "those who believe in an ‘iron fist’ policy, who believe that putting fear in the hearts of discontented Palestinians in the territories will lead them to eschew all resistance to the occupation; perhaps even to leave en masse for a future under some Arab sovereignty."[7] On 28 December, two Palestinians were injured after being shot in a demonstration in Ramallah against the deportation that clashed with the Israeli military.[8][9] The move to deport him to Jordan in particular raised fears that he could be endangered due to his opposition to King Hussein of Jordan.[10]
Following criticism of the arrest, the Israeli military stated that there was "a turning point in his activity" in 1986 and that he "started to plan and implement the building up of an overall leadership of Fatah in the territories," adding that they couldn't risk a formal trial because "even from inside prison he’ll be able to continue to operate and maintain contacts with his colleagues."[7] Haniyah argued that he was a "victim of political revenge for my struggle as a political person, as a journalist and as a writer to achieve the legitimate rights of my people" and that his deportation "as the deportation of others before me, will not change our just and legitimate demands for basic human rights."[10]
He appealed the deportation order to the Israeli military tribunals and then to the Supreme Court of Israel, represented by lawyers Avigdor Feldman and Felicia Langer.[11] In late December 1986, the Supreme Court ruled that the Israeli authorities' evidence against him was classified on national security grounds and that his lawyers would not be allowed to examine it. Following the ruling, he announced that he would drop his appeal and comply with the deportation order.[12] Before the end of the month, he was deported to Algeria via a Swissair flight.[13]
He would later serve as a member of the PLO delegation to the 2000 Camp David Summit.[16] In response to the failure of the Summit to produce an agreement, Haniyah claimed that the American and Israeli governments demonstrated "a lack of rational ability to understand the Palestinian reality" and that the United failed to listen to Palestinian warnings that they would not sign an agreement that "does not answer to their minimum national rights."[17] American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in The Atlantic in 2009 that "I remember Akram Haniyeh, then one of Arafat's top aides, telling me in 2001 or so that Israel should make the best deal it could with Fatah, because with Hamas there could be no compromise, and Hamas is most certainly coming."[18]
