Ayman Taha is a senior Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

 official and the organization's spokesman in the Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip

thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

. Taha was co-founder of Hamas also a former Hamas fighter.

Biography

Son of Mohammad Taha

Mohammad Taha

Mohammad Taha is a co-founding member of the Palestinian military group Hamas, who was arrested by the IDF in 2003. On May 5, 2004, after being held 14 months without trial, the 68-year-old Taha was released back to Gaza. His son, Ayman Taha, is a spokesman for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.-References:...

, a local Hamas official and director of the Islamic University of Gaza

Islamic University of Gaza

Islamic University of Gaza is an independent Palestinian university established in 1978 in Gaza City, Palestinian territories. The university, according to its website, has 10 faculties capable of awarding either B.A., B.Sc., M.A., M.Sc., Diploma and higher diploma in their respective disciplines...

, in 1998, Ayman Taha served as the President of the Student Council of the university. He later served as a commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades in Bureij during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s. After the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip

Battle of Gaza (2007)

The Battle of Gaza was a military conflict between Hamas and Fatah that took place between June 7 and 15, 2007 in the Gaza Strip. After winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, Hamas and Fatah formed the Palestinan authority national unity government in 2007, headed by Ismail Haniya. In...

 in June 2007, Taha became the group's spokesman for the territory.

In February 2009, after returning from a Palestinian

Palestinian people

The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 delegation in Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 discussing a long-term truce with Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Egyptian authorities prevented Taha from entering the Gaza Strip with over $11 million. Instead he deposited it in an Egyptian bank in al-Arish. On March 30, he announced in a discussion on a Nazareth

Nazareth

Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...

-based radio station the Hamas "would not remain open forever" concerning the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit

Gilad Shalit

Gilad Shalit is an Israeli – French citizen and Israel Defense Forces soldier. On 25 June 2006, he was captured inside Israel by Hamas militants in a cross-border raid via underground tunnels near the border with Gaza. The Hamas militants held him for over five years, until he was released on...

. In July 2009, Taha noted that a "culture of resistance" is being promoted in Gaza after the Gaza War, stating "Armed resistance is still important and legitimate, but we have a new emphasis on cultural resistance... After the war, the fighters needed a break and the people needed a break."