A new leader of Palestinian Islamist movement will soon be elected, a senior Hamas official said, adding that two key members are competing for the post.
AFP quoted the official saying that Hamas recently completed the formation of a new Shura Council, a consultative body largely composed of religious scholars, as well as a new political bureau.
“The movement has completed its internal elections in the three regions and has reached the final stage of selecting the head of the political bureau," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
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He added the two key contenders for the post are Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya.
Hayya, 65-year-old, is a resident of Gaza and Hamas’s chief negotiator in ceasefire talks. He has played key roles since at least 2006, AFP quoted the US-based NGO the Counter Extremism Project (CEP).
Meanwhile, Meshaal, who led the political bureau from 2004 to 2017, has never lived in Gaza, according to AFP. He was born in the West Bank in 1956. The CEP reported that he led Hamas’s evolution into a political-military hybrid. He currently heads the movement’s diaspora office.
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Since the beginning of war between Israel and Gaza following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed several of the movement’s leaders, including two former chiefs.
AFP quoted another Hamas source saying that the new leader will serve for only “one year… a transitional period".
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
