Hamas is in the final stage of selecting a new leader, with veteran figures Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya competing for the position, a senior official confirms.
GAZA CITY: A senior Hamas official said the Palestinian Islamist movement is in the final phase of selecting a new leader.
The official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the race is between veteran figures Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya.
Hamas recently completed forming a new Shura Council of over 80 members and an 18-member political bureau. The movement has concluded internal elections across its three regional branches and is now selecting the head of the political bureau.
A second Hamas source confirmed the development to AFP. A third source indicated the new leader would serve for only one year.
The selection process aims to renew internal legitimacy and fill leadership vacancies created by Israeli strikes. Several Hamas leaders have been killed since the war began following the October 7, 2023 attack.
Khaled Meshaal led the political bureau from 2004 to 2017 and currently heads the movement’s diaspora office. Khalil al-Hayya, a Gaza native and the group’s chief ceasefire negotiator, has held senior roles since at least 2006.
The new leader will face the challenge of navigating international calls for disarmament and resistance from Hamas’s armed wing. The group has previously stated it would surrender weapons to a Palestinian authority under certain conditions.
Palestinians in Gaza expressed mixed reactions to the impending leadership choice. “It will not make a difference to us in Gaza whether it is Meshaal or Hayya,” said Ali, a 40-year-old displaced from northern Gaza.
He added that Gazans have paid a heavy price and need a leader who can ease their suffering. Another resident, Radwan Mortaja, said experienced leaders acceptable to Arab countries are needed to help stabilise Gaza.
The Shura Council is elected every four years by representatives from Gaza, the West Bank, and the external leadership. Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails are also eligible to vote.
The council then elects the political bureau, which selects the movement’s head. Last month, a Hamas source said Hayya enjoyed backing from the group’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
The Sun Malaysia
