Friday, January 16, 2009

Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 15, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231950868535&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

The death of Said Siam is not only a blow to Hamas morale, but also a
personal setback for Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar, the
group's "foreign minister."

The two lost not only a longtime friend, but also the man who was in charge
of their personal security. In addition, Siam's main task was to ensure the
stability of the Hamas regime and thwart any attempt by Fatah to regain
control of the Gaza Strip.

Siam was considered by many Palestinians to be the movement's "defense
minister." In his capacity as minister of interior in the Hamas government
headed by Haniyeh, the 50-year-old Siam was in charge of all of the security
forces and armed groups operating in the Gaza Strip.

Siam, who won the largest number of votes in his constituency during the
January 2006 parliamentary election, was first appointed interior minister
in the Hamas government sworn in by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas.

But Siam clashed with the Fatah security chiefs in the Gaza Strip, who
refused to operate under his jurisdiction and instead reported to Abbas.

In response, Siam established his own security force, known as the Executive
Force, which served as another Hamas armed group in Gaza. The Force, which
consisted of more than 12,000 gunmen, reported directly to Siam, and its men
often clashed with rival Fatah policemen.

Siam resigned when Fatah and Hamas decided to form a national unity
government in line with an agreement reached in Mecca under the auspices of
the Saudi ruling family.

When the Fatah-Hamas coalition collapsed a few months later, Siam returned
to his former post.

In the summer of 2007, he played a major role in the Hamas takeover of the
Gaza Strip. Fatah operatives and leaders continued to regard him as a fierce
enemy after they were forced to flee to Egypt and the West Bank.

Siam, a former school teacher who graduated from a college in Ramallah, was
first arrested by Israel in 1988. He was sentenced to four years in prison
for security offenses and membership in a terror organization.

In 1992 he was among some 400 Hamas members Israel deported to southern
Lebanon in response to the kidnapping and murder of a Border Police officer.

Siam also spent some time in Palestinian Authority prison after the PA was
established in 1994.

The Fatah leadership in Ramallah considered Siam its No. 1 enemy, especially
after he announced that Hamas had seized documents in a formerly
Fatah-controlled security headquarters that proved the PA had been
collaborating with Israel against Hamas and other Palestinian factions.

Siam also enraged the Fatah leaders by threatening to publish documents that
were seized by Hamas and showed that the PA security forces had been spying
on the PA leadership and some Arab countries.

As in the case of Nizar Rayyan, another senior Hamas representative killed
by Israel during Operation Cast Lead, it was hard on Thursday to find words
of sympathy for Siam among Fatah members or the PA leadership in the West
Bank.

On the contrary, a number of Fatah and PA officials privately expressed
relief over the killing of Siam and said that his absence from the scene
would pave the way for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

Siam was seen as the No. 2 Hamas man in the Gaza Strip, and some of his
supporters considered him the future successor to Haniyeh.