Hamed Abu Daabas

Sheikh Hamed Abu Daabas (, ) is an Arab-Israeli of Bedouin descent, and the chairman of the southern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

Abu Daabas was elected as the chairman of the southern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel in April 2010, replacing Ibrahim Sarsur. Abu Daabas is known for his opinions in family affairs such as his opposition to cousin marriage in the Bedouin society and his support for the compromising Islamic approach to abortion that allows the procedure with some limitations.

Biography Daabas was born in December 1961 to a family of the clan of Al-Hezeel (part of the Tiyaha tribe). In 1976 he moved with his family to the newly established city of Rahat, where he joined the local schools. In 1981 Daabas started learning Behavioural sciences at the Ben Gurion University, where he also learned Social Sciences, Psychology and Cultural studies. In 1998 he started studying Political Science and Management science at the Sapir Academic College where he received his bachelor's degree with honors. He worked at the college as a lecturer for four years.

He acquired his religious knowledge from reading books and from being a student of Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish, the founder of the Islamic Movement. He was arrested for his participation and later released.

Islamic Movement Daabas joined the Islamic Movement in 1982. In 1990 he became the head of the movement in Rahat and in that same year he became chief executive officer of the movement. In 1998 he took a break to study and in 2000 he returned and became the head of the movement in the Negev. Daabas supports family planning. He thinks that bringing children to the world should not be halted, but he thinks longer breaks between births should be taken, concerning health and livelihood. In his view, marriages within the family are allowed but not advised. He advocates marriage between different families because it brings different families together and helps young people to find a better match for themselves, and as for inner-family couples, he advises to do genetic testing before marriage. He asserts that "the religion is interested in a healthy society".

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Daabas said that "ISIS raises reasonable demands like the establishment of an Islamic state, but their methods for reaching their objective raise concern in many nations across the world." He stressed that "ISIS was hurting their cause by filming their cruel and disgusting acts. I am against the murders, but it is important to note that the killing methods of Israel and the US are not better than the crimes of the Islamic State. If it were not for the shocking ways in which they kill, it would be possible to see ISIS like any other Jihadi organization."