Hamas in final stages to choose new leader amidst new Shura Council formation

A Hamas official highlighted to AFP on Sunday that the group was nearing the conclusion of its selection process for a new leader. Two prominent figures are now vying for this role amidst Hamas’s internal election phase, which has been underway since October 7, 2023, following Israel’s conflict with Gaza.

Since then, Israeli forces have targeted several Hamas leaders, including two former chiefs—Ismael Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar—who were killed in the latest violence. This conflict has claimed over 70,000 Palestinian lives since the onset of the war.

The official explained that the movement had completed internal elections for a Shura Council comprising more than eighty members, who are predominantly religious scholars, alongside an 18-person political bureau. Hamas recently formed this new council and bureau in response to Israel’s attack on Gaza.

Hamas’ latest selection process focuses on two figures: Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya. Both hold considerable experience within the group, with Hayya boasting senior roles since at least 2006 and Meshaal leading the political bureau from 2004 to 2017. As a former negotiator in ceasefire talks, Hayya is now the Gaza native spearheading Hamas’s operations.

Meshaal, born in the West Bank in 1956, has never lived in Gaza but has extensive experience across several countries including Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, and Qatar. The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) describes Meshaal as an influential figure who transformed Hamas into a political-military hybrid organization.

On the other hand, Hayya is 65 years old and currently leads Hamas’s diaspora office in Qatar. He was selected to replace Ismael Haniyeh last month after Israeli forces executed him in Tehran. A Hamas spokesperson confirmed that Hayya has garnered support from Hamas’s armed wing, known as Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.

Following Sinwar’s death last year, Hamas formed a temporary leadership committee consisting of five members based in Qatar, postponing the appointment of a single leader until future elections to mitigate risks. Israel accused Sinwar of orchestrating the October 7 attack on its territory, leading to his and Hayya’s demise by Israeli forces.

Despite a recent ceasefire agreement entering into its second phase last month, conflict persists in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, with both sides attributing breaches of accord to one another. Hamas has ensured that members of their Shura Council, elected every four years from representatives across the group’s branches—Gaza Strip, occupied West Bank, and external leadership—are eligible voters for the new political bureau’s selection process.

The council subsequently elects the political bureau, which then selects the movement’s leader. Given the ongoing volatile situation in Gaza and Israel, Hamas remains vigilant about potential attacks on its leaders and maintains a cautious stance until the final appointment is confirmed.