Hamas elected the head of its religious council to replace Ismail Haniyeh as the head of the political bureau of the terror group. According to reports in the Saudi Arabian media, Hamas chose Mohamed Ismail Darwish, also known as Abu Omar Hassan, after Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran last week in an attack attributed to Israel. Darwish is a little-known figure who remained outside public view and served as head of the Hamas religious council.
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Khaled Mashal with Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar
(Photo: EPA Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters )
Haniyeh's death threw Hamas into chaos and revealed an internal struggle between leader Yahya Sinwar and the senior officials outside Gaza. After Haniyeh's deputy Salah al Arouri, who would have been a natural successor, was also assassinated, some sought to appoint Khaled Mashal to the position but Sinwar was opposed to the plan.
A source in Hamas told the Saudi press that Darwish will coordinate between the terror group's leadership in Gaza, the West Bank and abroad until general elections are held but according to Hamas regulations, he will not be able to present his candidacy for the job.
Until the war, Hamas held elections every four years in Gaza, the West Bank, Israeli prisons and abroad, to elect 15 people to the political bureau and its leadership.
First published: 15:33, 08.06.24