A senior Hamas official advised AFP on Sunday that the Palestinian Islamist motion was within the remaining part of choosing a brand new chief, with two outstanding figures competing for the place.
Hamas not too long ago accomplished the formation of a brand new Shura Council of greater than 80 members, a consultative physique largely composed of non secular students, in addition to a brand new 18-member political bureau, the official stated.
Because the struggle in Gaza started after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, Israeli forces have killed a number of Hamas leaders, together with two former chiefs.
“The motion has accomplished its inner elections within the three areas and has reached the ultimate stage of choosing the top of the political bureau,” the official stated, talking on situation of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk publicly.
He stated the race for the group’s management was now between Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya.
A second Hamas supply confirmed the event, whereas a 3rd supply stated the brand new chief would lead the motion solely “for one 12 months”.
Regardless of a US-brokered ceasefire that entered its second part final month, violence has continued in Gaza, with Israel and Hamas blaming one another for violating the settlement.
Members of the council are elected each 4 years by representatives from Hamas’s three branches: the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Financial institution and the motion’s exterior management.
Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails are additionally eligible to vote.
The council subsequently elects the political bureau, which in flip selects the top of the motion.
– ‘No distinction to us’ –
Palestinians in Gaza voiced blended reactions to the developments inside Hamas.
“It is not going to make a distinction to us in Gaza whether or not it’s Meshaal or Hayya,” stated Ali, 40, initially from northern Gaza however now displaced to the central a part of the territory.
“Now we have paid a heavy value beneath Hamas’ rule, and we’d like a pacesetter who can ease the struggling we’re experiencing,” he stated, giving solely his first title.
Radwan Mortaja, 38, from Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, stated the 2 contenders had been seasoned figures inside Hamas.
“Right now, we’d like leaders with lengthy expertise… and who’re acceptable to Arab nations to assist stabilise Gaza,” stated Mortaja.
“I consider figures similar to Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya will help steer the scenario throughout this troublesome part.”
Hundreds of Hamas members voted to decide on the council and the political bureau, a 3rd Hamas supply stated, with out specifying how the vote was performed.
“The first objective of the method was to resume inner legitimacy and fill management vacancies,” he stated.
The brand new chief might want to navigate between worldwide calls, led by the USA and Israel, for the group to disarm, and resistance to that demand from its armed wing, which fought Israeli forces in Gaza.
Hamas has stated beforehand it might give up its weapons to a Palestinian authority in Gaza beneath sure situations.
– Skilled leaders –
Each Meshaal and Hayya have years of expertise inside the motion.
Hayya, 65, a Gaza native and Hamas’s chief negotiator in ceasefire talks, has held senior roles since a minimum of 2006, based on the US-based NGO the Counter Extremism Mission (CEP).
Meshaal, who led the political bureau from 2004 to 2017, has by no means lived in Gaza. He was born within the West Financial institution in 1956.
He joined Hamas in Kuwait and later lived in Jordan, Syria and Qatar. The CEP says he oversaw Hamas’s evolution right into a political-military hybrid.
He presently heads the motion’s diaspora workplace.
Final month, a Hamas supply advised AFP that Hayya loved backing from the group’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
After Israel killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024, the group selected its then-Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar as his successor.
Israel accused Sinwar of masterminding the October 7 assault. He too was killed by Israeli forces within the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah.
Hamas then opted for a five-member management committee primarily based in Qatar, suspending the appointment of a single chief till elections, given the chance of the brand new chief being focused by Israel.
