PNN – Informed sources announced that the Hamas movement has entered the final stage of internal elections to determine the new head of its political bureau; a competition that, according to informed sources, is taking place between two prominent figures in the movement, Khaled Mashaal and Khalil al-Hayyah.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the AFP news agency, citing informed sources in the Hamas movement, reported that the movement has completed its electoral processes and has now reached the final stage of appointing the head of the political bureau.
According to Al-Mayadeen, a Hamas official has announced that the final competition between Khaled Mashaal and Khalil Al-Hayyah is underway, and an official statement on the election of the new leader is expected to be issued, possibly during the month of Ramadan.
According to two sources in Hamas, the new leader will be elected for a one-year term, which is considered an exceptional period. After that, new elections will be held for the movement’s council and leadership structures and institutions, which will have a four-year term.
A Hamas official stated that the purpose of holding these elections was to “renew internal legitimacy and fill the voids left by the assassination of dozens of members of the political bureau, the Shura Council, and field commanders by Israel.”
Al-Mayadeen reported that the new leader will face a significant challenge: on the one hand, international pressure, especially from the United States and the Israeli regime, to disarm Hamas, and on the other, the position of the movement’s military wing, which emphasizes maintaining weapons. Hamas has not yet accepted Tel Aviv’s conditions for disarmament, but has announced that it will facilitate the power transfer process.
Khaled Meshaal, born in 1956 in the village of Silwad in the West Bank, previously headed Hamas’ political bureau and is described by some members of the movement as a “pragmatic and moderate” figure. In contrast, Khalil al-Hayyah was born in 1960 in Gaza City and is the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and also heads the movement’s negotiating team. According to internal sources, he enjoys the support of the military branch.
After the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024, Yahya Sinwar took over as Hamas leader and was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in Rafah in October of that year. After that, Hamas formed a leadership council consisting of five figures, headed by the speaker of the General Assembly, Muhammad Darwish.