Said Seyam (; 22 July 1959 – 15 January 2009), first name also spelled Saeed and Sayed and last name also spelled Siam, was a Palestinian politician. He served as the interior minister of the Palestinian government of March 2006. He joined Hamas and became one of its top commanders. During the 2008–2009 Gaza War, Seyam was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia. Seyam was the most senior Hamas member killed in the war, and the most senior Hamas figure killed by Israel since the death of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in April 2004.

Early life and education

Said Seyam was born on 22 July 1959 in the Al-Shati refugee camp near Gaza City. His parents fled there during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War from their village home of al-Jura, near Ashkelon. Following his secondary education in Gaza City, he gained a diploma in sciences and maths, followed by a bachelor's degree in Islamic education from the Al-Quds Open University.

Hamas membership

It is unknown when Seyam joined Hamas, but he was one of the earliest members. Seyam held a job as a teacher at various United Nations-run schools until 2003. In 1992, he was expelled from the Palestinian territories by Israel to southern Lebanon and upon his return in 1995, Seyam was arrested by the Preventive Security Service (PSS) dominated by Fatah. He had evaded at least one attempt by the IDF to kill him in late 2004. Seyam became one of the members of the Hamas "collective leadership" in Gaza after the 2004 killings of founders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.

References

  • AFP Article
  • Said Siam Obituary from The Guardian
  • "Hamas leader denies disputes with Abbas on new cabinet formation", Xinhua, 12 March 2006.
  • Analysis: Security kingpin held Gaza in iron grip Analysis of factional struggles between Fatah and Hamas in the wake of Hamas' takeover of Gaza in 2007

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