Jamila Abdallah Taha al-Shanti (15 March 1955 – 19 October 2023) was a Palestinian politician who was a member of Hamas who had previously been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. She was killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza on 19 October 2023, during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

Early life and education

Al-Shanti was born on 15 March 1955. She held a PhD in English.

Career

Al-Shanti was a member of Hamas and was the founder of the group's women's organization. She taught at the Islamic University in Gaza until 2006. On 3 November 2006 she led an unarmed women's march that succeeded in breaking an Israeli siege on a mosque in the town of Beit Hanoun. The Israeli military opened fire on the group, describing them as "human shields", one was killed and ten were wounded. In the 2006 Palestinian legislative election she was the third candidate on the Hamas-led Change and Reform electoral list. She was the most senior woman among Hamas deputies elected in 2006 and became minister in 2011. She worked as a faculty member at the Islamic University in Gaza, and was the wife (later widow) of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi. In 2006 she claimed that an air strike aimed at her head instead killed her sister-in-law and over a dozen other people. International media confirmed that there had been an air strike on al-Shanti's home and that it killed Nahla Shanti and Abdel Majid Ghirbawi. In 2021, al-Shanti (then aged 64) was elected as a member of Hamas' political bureau. The 15-member group is Hamas' highest decision-making body. She was the first woman ever to hold such a position in Hamas.

Death

On 19 October 2023, during the Israel–Hamas war, al-Shanti was killed in an Israeli air strike, on her home in the Gaza Strip. France 24 listed her as one of the "key figures on Israel's hit list".