Hamas moves to elect new political bureau chief: Report
- Hamas nears final stage in selecting new political bureau chief.
- Leadership contest narrows to Khaled Mashal and Khalil al-Hayya amid internal restructuring.
Hamas is set to elect a new head of its political bureau, sources told Agence France-Presse, as the movement completes its internal elections across its three regions.
According to AFP, the upcoming election marks an exceptional one-year term for the bureau chief, after which Hamas plans full elections for its leadership and consultative structures, which last four years.
Leadership Contest Narrows
Two senior figures are competing for the top post: Khaled Mashal, the external head of Hamas born in 1956 in the West Bank village of Silwad, and Khalil al-Hayya, born in Gaza in 1960, who currently leads Hamas in the Gaza Strip and heads its negotiating delegation.
A source said, “Hamas will issue a statement once the leader is chosen, expected during Ramadan.”
Shura Council Reorganized
AFP reports that Hamas has already completed elections for a new Shura Council, its advisory body connecting the political bureau with local leadership. Under Hamas’s internal rules, more than 80 members of the general Shura Council elect the head of the movement and bureau members.
Restoring Leadership After Losses
The recent internal elections aim to restore internal legitimacy and fill leadership gaps left by Israel’s targeted killings of dozens of political bureau members, Shura Council members, and field commanders.
After the assassination of former bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024, Yahya Sinwar took leadership until his death in October during a clash with Israeli forces in Rafah. Since then, Hamas has been led by a five-member leadership council chaired by Shura Council head Muhammad Darwish.
The upcoming election marks a critical moment in Hamas’s efforts to stabilize its political structures amid ongoing pressures from Israeli operations.
