He was born in the town of Anata, northeast of Jerusalem, on 5/21/1968.

He studied at Anata schools, and joined Al-Quds University (Abu Dis) in 1986 to study Sharia and Islamic studies.

He joined the Islamic Bloc at Al-Quds University, and was among the first to join Hamas when it was founded in 1987.

He worked as the director of the Jerusalem office of the newspaper Sawt al-Haqq wa al-Hurriya, which was published by the Islamic Movement in the occupied interior, before his arrest by the occupation forces.

He formed, with Ibrahim Al-Akkari, Mahmoud Atoun and Majed Abu Qutaish, Group 101 in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which was the first Qassam military cell in Jerusalem.

The group carried out a kidnapping operation against the occupation army soldier “Naseem Toledano” on 12/13/1992 near the city of Lod with the aim of concluding a swap deal during which Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and other prisoners would be released. After the occupation refused to release them, “Toledano” was killed.

Following the operation, the occupation forces launched an arrest campaign that included thousands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad cadres and leaders, and deported them to the Marj al-Zuhur area, south of Lebanon.

After 6 months of pursuit, the occupation forces arrested Mahmoud Issa, and he was subjected to a military investigation (severe torture) in the “Moscobiyeh” and Ramla prisons for two months.

The occupation court sentenced Mahmoud Issa to 3 life sentences and 46 years.

He attempted to escape from Ashkelon prison in 1996, and was subsequently held in solitary confinement for 13 years.

He has many important books and studies, including: Politics between Realism and Legitimacy - a critical study, Loyalty and Treachery (a collection of short stories), Resistance between Theory and Practice, The Tale of Saber (a novel), and Conspiracy Theory in the Holy Qur’an.

The mother and father of prisoner Mahmoud Issa died while he was in captivity.