According to Asharq, Hayya is expected to win due to his popularity in the Gaza Strip and involvement in Hamas operations in the West Bank.
Hamas is planning to hold internal elections to choose its new political bureau head, the Saudi Arabia-based channel Asharq News reported on Saturday.
The election, which was originally set to be held earlier this year, was ordered by a leadership council that was established after the deaths of Hamas’s previous political bureau chiefs Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, who was the mastermind behind Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
Asharq News reported that the decision to hold the election, which will result in the dissolution of the transitional leadership council, was forced by “the appearance of contradictory opinions among the members of the council” regarding Hamas’s future in Gaza and ties with regional allies.
Hamas’s Shura Council, made up of approximately 50 individuals representing the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and global Hamas operations, has begun preparations for the election, the Saudi news channel said, adding that the vote will occur within the next few days or weeks.
Candidates disagree on Hamas strategy, Iran ties
The two candidates up for the position are Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Mashaal. According to Asharq, Hayya is expected to win due to his popularity in the Gaza Strip and involvement in Hamas operations in the West Bank.
Hayya’s platform is based on maintaining the current status quo of Hamas’s strategy, which includes “armed confrontation with Israel in the Gaza Strip until the war ends and the Israeli army completely withdraws,” the news agency said.
In contrast, Mashaal is reportedly leaning toward a path based on trying to distance Hamas from Iranian influence, strengthening ties with more moderate Arab nations, and continuing to participate in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Gaza.
Hayya and Mashaal were two of the three Hamas terror leaders targeted by an unsuccessful Israeli assassination attempt in Doha in early September.
latest_posts
- 1
‘We are the alternative’: Anti-Hamas Gaza militia tells BBC group is receiving international support - 2Germany and trade unions kick off tough public-sector wage talks
- 3Trump administration launches new immigration crackdowns in New Orleans and Minneapolis. Here are all the cities it has targeted so far.
- 4Al-Sharaa denies he called for 80% of Syrians to return from Germany
- 5The Century Coupe Could Be Toyota’s Most Ambitious Car Since the LFA
- Two Indonesian UN peacekeepers killed in explosion in Lebanon
- Trump declares Christmas Eve and Dec. 26 federal holidays: What does that mean?
- Claim that Israel opened 'sewage dam' into Gaza's main river undersells sanitation crisis
- Indian Health Service is digging out of decades-old construction backlog for medical buildings
- Vote In favor of Your Favored Language Interpretation Administration
- Study casts doubt on potential for life on Jupiter's moon Europa
- 4 Coolers for Present day Kitchens
- Building Tough Connections: Individual Bits of knowledge on Association
- 25 Years Ago, Audi's Rosemeyer Concept Was A Steampunk Supercar With A Massive Engine
