The accelerated and secretive election process for Hamas’ leadership in the Gaza Strip and for the leadership of the politburo was completed Tuesday night (March 9), with the most prominent of the five senior Hamas figures who were elected to the Gaza Shura council and who ran as candidates, Nazar Awadallah, winning to become the new leader of the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
The other candidates were Yahya Sinwar, who was originally considered to have the best chance and was expected to remain in his position as Hamas leader in Gaza; Mahmoud A-Zahar, Fathi Hamad and Ziad Tata, according to Palestinian Authority sources.
It also appears that a new head of the Shura Council in the Gaza Strip has been elected.
Osama Abu Hamam al-Mazini, who was involved in the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and in negotiations for his release, was apparently elected to the post.
Hamas members must still elect the head of its political bureau — the person who also leads the terrorist organization’s international division.
The election process, which has already been completed in the “Prisons District,” meaning among Hamas prisoners incarcerated in Israel and in the Gaza Strip, is expected to end this month, once the process is also completed in the “West Bank District” and among Hamas members abroad.
Meanwhile, Hamas operatives claim that the process is not transparent and is not democratic as not all candidates have been given an equal opportunity.
Furthermore, the Hamas leadership in Judea and Samaria claims that it must be represented by those who live in the area and not by those who have moved abroad; mainly released prisoners who are considered to represent them even in their absence.
For the top position in Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, the current international Hamas head, is running against Khaled Mesha’al. Haniyeh is backed by Yahya Sinwar and Marwan Issa, the head of the terrorist group’s military wing in the Gaza Strip. Mesha’al, who was chairman of the political bureau until 2017, is backed by Qatar. Saleh Arouri, Haniyeh’s current deputy, is also running for this position.
Hamas hastened the process to be able to complete the internal election process and then face the upcoming election challenge for the Palestinian Legislative Council this May with a solid list. It seems that Hamas has not yet decided whether or not to run a candidate for the Palestinian presidency as well.