Sunday, January 22, 2012

Hamas political chief to step down



Leader Khaled Meshaal will not seek renomination after 16 years at the helm of the Palestinian Islamist group

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 21 January 2012

"Khaled Meshaal, the political head of Hamas, is to step down from his position when elections for the leadership of the Palestinian Islamist organisation take place in the next few months.

A statement from Meshaal's office said the Damascus-based leader would not seek re-nomination after 16 years at the helm, but would continue to serve the movement. It followed reports of the move earlier this week.

Meshaal has indicated in recent weeks that Hamas should make a strategic departure from armed struggle to popular non-violent resistance in the wake of the Arab spring revolutions and the success of Islamist parties in elections.

The new approach caused a rift with the internal Gaza leadership, which said there would be no change in Hamas policy. "There has been no change concerning our mode of thinking towards the conflict," Mahmoud Zahar, the most senior Hamas figure inside Gaza, told the Guardian in an interview this month.

Meshaal's decision to step down may indicate that the Hamas leadership within Gaza has won a power struggle......

The Hamas leader was also looking for a new base for the organisation amid the ongoing revolt in Syria. Hamas had refused to back the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, infuriating the Iranian government, which had sponsored both it and the Syrian leadership.

The exiled leadership of Hamas now appears to be fragmenting geographically. Meshaal's family has reportedly moved to Amman, and his deputy, Mousa Abu Marzouk, has relocated to Cairo. The military operations leader, Emad al-Alami, has moved his family to Gaza, it has been reported. Many other officials have also left Damascus, ostensibly to move their families to safety.

Abu Marzouk is expected to be in contention to succeed Meshaal, although Ismail Haniyeh, the de facto prime minister of Gaza, could also stand for the political leadership. The post is meant to be limited to two terms, although Meshaal's period at the helm was twice extended."

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