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
Figure out How to Explore Your Direction to the Best Dental Embed Trained professional: A Far reaching Manual - 2A top Marine shares his secrets to keeping fit at 50
- 3Wolf Bites Woman in Shocking Attack at Busy Shopping Center
- 4I went to Japan during peak cherry blossom season and found an easy way to escape the crowds at popular tourist attractions
- 5Well informed: How to Take full advantage of Your Gadgets
- Shas threatens to oppose 2026 state budget over haredi food-voucher exclusion
- More parents refusing this shot that prevents serious bleeding at birth
- Old age isn’t a modern phenomenon – many people lived long enough to grow old in the olden days, too
- NASA begins the countdown for humanity's first launch to the moon in 53 years
- Vote in favor of Your #1 sort of pie
- Behind every perfect holiday memory is a mom on the brink
- 'Supergirl' drops 1st teaser trailer: Watch Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El and the return of Krypto the Superdog
- Infants will no longer receive hepatitis B vaccine at birth, CDC announces
- How will the universe end?
