Hamas is looking for new leadership after years of shifting warfare. Veteran Khalid Mašál is returning to head the political office, but this is only the result of the vote in Gaza.
Members of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip finished voting in the internal elections and elected Khalid Mashal as the leader of the movement, i.e. the head of its political office, the Lebanese newspaper al-Achbar reported. TASR informs about this according to a Monday report of the Times of Israel (TOI) portal.
- Members of Hamas in Gaza have elected Khalid Mashal as their political leader.
- Khalil Hajja became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip after internal elections.
- Zahir Jabarin was elected as the leader of Hamas in the occupied West Bank.
- Hajja and Jabarín took over after the killing of Sinwar and Aruri by Israel.
- The planned elections for 2025 were postponed by the war in Gaza and Israel.
Another member of the militant movement, Khalil Hajja, was elected as the leader of Hamas in Gaza, and Zahir Jabarin became the leader of the group in the West Bank, TOI reports.
Hajja and Jabarín continue to lead
Hajja and Jabarin held these posts even before the elections – they took their posts after the killing of the leaders of the movement Yahya Sinwar and Salih Aruri during targeted Israeli operations in Gaza.
However, a report by al-Achbar daily said the results only reflected voting in Gaza. He does not mention whether voting has already taken place in other areas that are part of the overall decision-making process – in the West Bank and abroad. Hamas itself has not yet issued an official statement on the matter.
The war influenced the vote
The Hamas movement usually holds leadership elections every four years, but the most recent vote, originally scheduled for 2025, was postponed due to the war in the Gaza Strip, unleashed by a massacre by Palestinian extremists on October 7, 2023 in Israeli territory. During the war, Israel eliminated most of the high-ranking political and military commanders of this movement, reminds TOI.
Khalid Mashal is one of the most prominent and longest-serving figures of the Palestinian movement Hamas. He currently served as the head of Hamas in exile and was considered one of the main favorites for the post of overall leader of the movement.
