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Report: Haniyeh set to replace Mashaal as Hamas chief
According to a London-based Arabic language daily, Hamas’s leader in Gaza will soon be appointed the terror group’s political bureau chief and effective overall leader.
Asharq Al-Awsat reports that agreement is close for Ismael Haniyeh to replace Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, after he became the only remaining candidate.
An anonymous source is quoted saying: “There is almost an agreement inside the leadership of the political bureau that the two expected candidates running for the presidency of Hamas would withdraw and therefore, allow Haniyeh to chair the movement.”
Haniyeh will reportedly soon move with his family to Qatar, where Mashaal is currently based, as a sign that he is preparing to take office. Some reports say that Haniyeh has already left the Gaza Strip to participate in the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and will move to Qatar from there.
Mashaal has been the recognised overall leader of Hamas since 1996. He has served two full terms in the role and is not allowed to run for a third. Mashaal has always ruled from afar, from the Syrian capital Damascus and more recently from Qatar. Under his control, Hamas has carried out numerous suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.
The apparent change of leader comes against the backdrop of tension between the political and military wings of Hamas, with the military wing apparently strengthening (no source mentioned). Hamas is also expected to contest upcoming Palestinian municipal elections in October, in which it will challenge Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s dominant Fatah faction.
In separate news, Israeli troops near the Gaza border came under fire again overnight. There were no injuries and IDF forces returned fire towards two Hamas positions. It is the second such incident in as many days, with an IDF border patrol having come under fire on Saturday night. Last month, tensions increased after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, prompting Israeli air strikes on dozens of Hamas targets.