Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook

Arrest in U.S. Officials from the Immigration and Naturalization Service arrested Marzook upon arrival at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on 27 July 1995 due to his presence on a terrorist watch list. American and Israeli authorities claimed that Marzook was the head of Hamas's political committee and set the group's political and strategic policy, including sanctioning its use of terrorist attacks. Others described Marzook as Hamas's de facto foreign minister, a public face and key fundraiser.

A U.S. judge concluded there was "probable cause" Marzook was linked to bombings in Israel. Two months after Marzouk's arrest, Israel requested the United States extradite him.

In 2003, the Central Bank of Jordan froze the assets of Hamas leaders, including Marzook as a politburo member. The assets of politburo chief Khaled Mashal, founder Ahmed Yassine, and senior officials Osama Hamdan and Imad al-Alami were also frozen.

After Ismail Haniyeh was elected as deputy head of Hamas by the Hamas Shura Council in April 2013, Marzook was appointed as one of two deputies to Haniyeh. Marzook was responsible for all external issues, while Khaled Mishaal was responsible for issues within the Palestinian Territories.

Living in exile In 2012, Marzook was living in New Cairo, Egypt. At the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, Marzook was residing in Doha, Qatar.

Criminal charges in the US Marzook was listed as a Specially Designated Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury Department in 1995, and is currently on the renamed Treasury department Specially Designated National list under such alternative spellings of his name as Dr. Musa Abu-Marzuq, Sa'id Abu-Marzuq, Mousa Mohamed Abou Marzook, Musa Abu Marzouk, and Musa Abu Marzuk, and under the alias "Abu-'Umar."

In 2002, a federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment against Marzook for conspiring to violate U.S. laws that prohibit dealings in terrorist funds. The indictment alleged that Marzook had conspired with the Richardson, Texas-based InfoCom Corporation and five of its employees to hide his financial transactions with the computer company. He allegedly invested $250,000 in InfoCom, with Infocom to make payments to Marzook based on the company's net profits or losses.

In 2004, Ismail Elbarasse was detained by police in Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge after Baltimore County police officers said they saw a woman (his wife) in the vehicle videotaping the Bridge, including footage of the cables and upper supports of the main span. Elbarasse was an assistant to Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, and was named an unindicted co-conspirator by a grand jury in Chicago after authorities searched the home and vehicle of Elbarasse and found bank records belonging to Marzook, deputy chief of Hamas's political wing. A federal indictment charged Marzook in an alleged conspiracy that authorities said raised millions of dollars for Hamas.

In 2004, a U.S. court indicted him in absentia for coordinating and financing Hamas activities.

Political views Interview with The Forward In April 2012, Marzook gave what was billed as his "first-ever interview with a Jewish publication", The Forward. Marzook said that an agreement between Israel and the P.A. would have to be ratified by a referendum of all Palestinians, including those in Gaza. He would regard it as a hudna, or cease-fire, rather than as a peace treaty. If Hamas gained power, they would feel free to change provisions of the agreement. "We will not recognize Israel as a state", he said. "It will be like the relationship between Lebanon and Israel or Syria and Israel", that is, an armistice.

The Forward requested the interview, which took place over two days at Marzook's home in New Cairo, Egypt.

2012 Gaza war Following the eight-day cross-border battle between Israel and Hamas in November 2012, Moussa Abu Marzouk said that Hamas would not stop making weapons in Gaza or smuggling them to the territory. According to the Associated Press, Moussa Abu Marzouk is the No. 2 leader in Hamas.

Gaza war In separate interviews with the BBC and the Economist after the October 7 attacks, Marzook refused to acknowledge that Hamas killed civilians during the attack.

When asked why Hamas built 500 km of tunnels but not shelters for civilians in Gaza, Abu Marzuk said that the tunnels are built to protect Hamas fighters, while it is the responsibility of UN to protect the civilians.

In February 2025, Marzuk said that if he had been aware of the destruction that the October 7 attacks on Israel would cause in Gaza, he would not have supported it.

In November 2025, Abu Marzuk told Al Jazeera that Hamas would consider giving up missiles and rockets as part of a truce with Israel.

Notes and references