'The Palestinian Trumpeldor': Expert explains Mohammad Deif's status among Palestinians

Lt. Col. (Res.) Alon Eviatar, the commentator on Arab affairs and expert on the Palestinian scene, spoke on Sunday morning with Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM radio regarding the assassination attempt on the military leader of Hamas, Mohammed Deif.

Evitar began by saying, "He has been associated with being the one who managed to evade all assassination attempts. The accusation against Israel is that they used such a wide range of resources, but in the end, there is no proof whether they succeeded in killing him or not.

"Deif has earned a place of honor in the Palestinian ethos. His name is revered among Palestinians from Jenin to Rafah as a respected figure. He is somewhat like the Palestinian Trumpeldor, someone who practically lived underground all these years. It's a human characteristic that is almost superhuman."

Deif: The man behind the scenes

Eviatar further added, "For 25 years now, Deif always sleeps somewhere else. A very large part of the Palestinians don't even know that his name isn't Mohammed Deif at all.

"Ultimately, Deif has been the one who has implemented Sinwar's vision and policy into action over the years. He's the one who built Hamas's militant military apparatus behind the scenes, shaping the very clear, less political, and less social military line of Hamas. He signed off on every event from October 7 from start to finish."

Edited by Michal Kadosh for 103FM radio.