Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, likes to host visitors in a modern white conference room at his headquarters in Gaza City.
On one wall hangs a portrait of Ahmed Yassin, the Islamist sheikh who founded Hamas in 1987 and led the militant group from his wheelchair until he was blown apart by an Israeli rocket in 2004.
Looking down from the other wall is an image of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, an Arab guerrilla leader after whom Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, is named. Qassam led attacks on Jews in Palestine in the 1930s before he was hunted down and killed by British troops.
Sinwar, 55, has told friends he believes his own life will probably end violently but he is unafraid because…
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