Hamas to elect first leader since Sinwar killed by Israel, sources say
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Mr Khalil Al-Hayya (left) and Mr Khaled Meshaal are seen as front runners for the helm at a vital moment Hamas.
PHOTOS: AFP
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CAIRO – Hamas is expected to elect a new leader in January, two sources in the group told Reuters, filling the role left vacant since Israel killed Mr Yahya Sinwar
Mr Khalil Al-Hayya and Mr Khaled Meshaal are seen as front runners for the helm at a vital moment for the militant Islamist group, battered by two years of war ignited by its Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel
Both men reside in Qatar and sit on a five-man council that has run Hamas since Israel killed Mr Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct 7 attack. His predecessor, Mr Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated by Israel
The election process has already begun, the sources said. The leader is chosen in a secret ballot by Hamas’ Shoura Council, a 50-member body that includes Hamas members in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and exile.
A Hamas spokesperson declined to comment.
Hamas faces tough challenges
The sources said a deputy leader will also be elected to replace Mr Saleh Al-Arouri, who was killed by an Israeli air strike
Sources close to Hamas said it was determined to conclude the vote, though some preferred an extension of collective leadership.
Hamas watchers regard Mr Meshaal as part of a pragmatic wing with good ties to Sunni Muslim countries, and Mr Hayya, the group’s lead negotiator, as part of a camp that deepened its relations with Iran.
Hamas faces some of the toughest challenges since it was founded in 1987. While fighting has largely abated in Gaza since the US-brokered ceasefire in October
Hamas has also drawn criticism within Gaza because of the heavy toll inflicted by the war, with much of the enclave reduced to ruins and more than 71,000 people killed, according to the Gaza health authorities.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251 others in the Oct 7 cross-border assault on Israel.
US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for Gaza
Both Meshaal and Hayya previously targeted by Israel
Hamas has so far refused to disarm, saying the question of armed resistance is a matter for wider debate among Palestinian factions, and that it would be ready to surrender its weapons to a future Palestinian state, an outcome Israel has ruled out.
Hamas is designated as a terrorist organisation by Western powers, including the US.
Born in Gaza, Mr Hayya was among Hamas leaders targeted by an Israeli air strike on Qatar in September
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later expressed regret to the emir of Qatar
Mr Meshaal previously led Hamas for almost two decades. Israeli agents tried to assassinate him in Jordan in 1997 by injecting him with poison.
His relations with Iran were strained in 2012 when he distanced Hamas from Tehran’s Syrian ally, the now-ousted president Bashar al-Assad
Hamas was founded as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and is the main rival to the Palestinians’ Fatah national movement, led by 90-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas.
Hamas’ founding charter called for the destruction of Israel, although its leaders have at times offered a long-term truce with Israel in return for a viable Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
Israel regards this approach as a ruse.
Analyst Reham Owda said there were limited differences between Mr Hayya and Mr Meshaal over the conflict with Israel, but believed Mr Meshaal had better chances as he could “market (Hamas) internationally and help rebuild its capabilities”. REUTERS
