By Taghreed Saadeh
Palestinian sources told “Zaytoun News” that Sufian Abu Zaida was the Palestinian figure who managed a secret communication channel between Hamas and Israel.
Sources within Fatah denied reports carried by Israeli newspapers and media outlets concerning alleged contacts between former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through a figure affiliated with Fatah.
The sources told “Zaytoun News” that Fatah is sometimes invoked in such reports to give the alleged contacts an appearance of official legitimacy, stressing that the movement had no knowledge of any such communications.
At the same time, more than one Palestinian source familiar with the matter confirmed that the figure referred to in the Israeli reports was Sufian Abu Zaida, a prominent member of the Democratic Reform Current associated with Mohammed Dahlan.
Abu Zaida previously held several official positions within the Palestinian Authority, which enabled him to develop extensive contacts with the Israeli side, particularly during his years overseeing civil affairs, as well as his subsequent responsibilities involving prisoners and civil affairs.
Fatah expelled Abu Zaida in May 2014, along with a number of other senior figures, over their alleged links to Mohammed Dahlan, who had also been expelled from the movement.
Israeli media outlets have recently published reports and investigations revealing what they described as controversial details concerning channels of communication and messages allegedly exchanged between Yahya Sinwar and Benjamin Netanyahu, both in the period preceding the October 7 attacks and in earlier years.
Israeli newspapers published investigations today detailing what they described as Netanyahu’s management of a secret communication channel with Hamas’s leadership during the final days of the 2014 Gaza war.
According to the Israeli reports, the communications were conducted through a third party, Israeli businessman Shlomi Fogel, a figure close to Netanyahu. Fogel allegedly maintained telephone contact for several weeks with a Hamas commander inside the Gaza Strip.
The reports further indicated that a figure affiliated with Fatah was responsible for relaying messages between Sinwar and Netanyahu. Subsequent reports also alleged that the Fatah-linked figure had ties to the United Arab Emirates.
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