Aziz Dweik: Difference between revisions

'''Aziz Dweik''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Abdel Aziz Duaik from Palestinian pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|ə|ˈ|z|iː|z|_|d|uː|ˈ|w|eɪ|k}} {{respell|ə|ZEEZ|_|doo|WAYK}}; {{lang-ar|عزيز دويك}} {{transl|ajp|ʿAzīz Dowēk}}) (born January 12, 1948) is the [[Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council]] (PLC) since his election to that post on 18 January 2006. Dweik, as speaker of the PLC, is recognized by many [[Palestinians]] including those living in [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], as being the Interim [[President of the Palestinian National Authority]] since 19 October 2016 when the [[October 2016 Hamas government|national unity government was dissolved]]. He was also recognized as the interim president from 15 January 2009, when the elected term of [[Mahmoud Abbas]] officially expired, until 2 June 2014, when the [[Palestinian Unity Government of June 2014|national unity government]] was formed.<ref name=Globe>{{cite news|title=Fancy that, a moderate in Hamas|author=Patrick Martin|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/mideast-notebook/fancy-that-a-moderate-in-hamas/article1200923/|date=July 18, 2009|access-date=2009-08-03|location=Toronto|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref name=Manar>{{cite web|title=Hamas Says Dweik "Real President" until Elections are Held |url=http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=91562&language=en |date=June 25, 2006 |access-date=2009-08-03 |publisher=[[Al-Manar]] }}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Duweik has been associated with [[The Muslim Brotherhood]] and [[Hamas]] since as early as 1992. At that time, Hamas was an organization that had been banned by Israel and he never admitted to being a member, though he spoke to Western journalists about Hamas as someone who held knowledge of the organization and its aims. Duweik was careful to dissociate himself from the military actions carried out by Hamas, even though Hamas's early military raids, described as "effective, and deadly," were directed at Israeli occupation forces, not at civilians.<ref name=Note1>Suicide bombings were only adopted as a tactic by the armed wing beginning in 1994 and were officially foresworn by 2005.[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/mideast-notebook/fancy-that-a-moderate-in-hamas/article1200923/]</ref> In 1992, a separate military wing was established called the [[Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades]] so that the political wing of Hamas could be distinguished from the military one.<ref name=Globe/>