Hamas leader’s family buys $1.8 million luxury villa in Israel

Residents branded the former neighbor a “traitor” for selling to a Hamas-linked family.

By World Israel News Staff

Residents of the upscale southern Israeli town of Omer are outraged after learning that a luxury villa in their community was sold to relatives of slain Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh.

The villa, located in the affluent suburb of Beersheba, was purchased for 6 million shekels ($1.8 million) by members of Haniyeh’s extended family.

Haniyeh, the longtime leader of the terror group’s political wing, was assassinated in Tehran, Iran, in July 2024.

Though he devoted his life to orchestrating deadly terror attacks and seeking the destruction of Israel, at least three of Haniyeh’s Gaza-born sisters married Israeli Bedouins decades ago, settling in the Negev Desert and obtaining Israeli citizenship.

According to the Hebrew-language outlet Walla, the previous owner of the villa did not deny selling the property to Haniyeh’s family. However, he insisted the relatives in question are “law-abiding” and not connected to terrorism.

He added that the family who purchased the home are successful businesspeople who own a local factory.

Omer residents took to social media to express their outrage over the identity of their new neighbors.

In a local Facebook group, some residents branded the homeowner who sold the villa a “traitor.” Others warned that the move could endanger the entire town.

“This is what the beginning of the end looks like,” one angry resident wrote, calling on local council head Erez Badash to intervene.

“There are legal ways to protect our community,” the resident added, blasting Badash for inaction and adding, “Shame on you!”

Several months after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, one of Haniyeh’s sisters — an Israeli citizen living in the southern Negev desert — was arrested for glorifying the atrocities on social media.

The local council responsible for Omer refused to comment on the Walla report regarding the sale of the property.

Arab IsraelisBedouinBeershebaHamasIsmael HaniyehIsmail HaniyehSouthern Israel