117: The Palestinian insider who thinks Hamas is losing, with Samer Sinijlawi

117: The Palestinian insider who thinks Hamas is losing, with Samer Sinijlawi

May 20, 2026 · 52 min · Episode 117

About this episode

Samer Sinijlawi discusses the changing political landscape in Palestinian society post-Gaza war and his views on Hamas and Fatah.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur). And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur). -- Longtime Fatah activist Samer Sinijlawi spent five years in prison during the First Intifada and then rose up the Fatah ranks. He eventually came to lead Palestinian outreach to Israelis. Sinijlawi was one of the rare Palestinian activists to explicitly condemn the October 7 massacre. He even visited Israeli victims. In the wake of the Gaza war, he now calls for a new and deep dialogue with Israelis — and is convinced Palestinian society can move on from the regimes of Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas. For example, in recent local elections -- including in Gaza -- opposition and technocratic lists that Sinijlawi helped advance sidelined both radical Islamist forces and Abbas's faction within Fatah. Is a new Palestinian political reality taking shape in the wake of the Gaza war? -- This episode was sponsored by an individual who…

People in this episode

Host: Haviv Rettig Gur

Guest: Samer Sinijlawi

Topics covered

Keywords

Sponsors

Beit Issie Shapiro

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fatah, Hamas

Places: Israel, Gaza

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