TEL AVIV, Israel: Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, said Saturday that it had chosen Ismail Haniyeh, a charismatic grass-roots politician, as its new political chief, the latest move in an effort to refresh the militant Islamist group’s leadership and manifesto.
Haniyeh, seen as a relative moderate with close ties to Hamas’ military wing, will move from Gaza City to Hamas headquarters in Doha, Qatar, to take over from Khaled Meshaal, who has been responsible for the organization’s foreign relations and financing for the last 12 years.
The announcement caps several months of voting among Hamas’ far-flung members in Gaza, the West Bank, Israeli jails and abroad to select a replacement for Meshaal, who sought to step down.
It comes a few days after Hamas unveiled a revised charter that eased its position on Israel and distanced itself from Islamist groups in the region in what was seen as a bid to reverse years of growing isolation in the region.
Hamas, classified as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Israel, has been buffeted by upheavals across the Arab world, which resulted in bruised relations and reduced support from governments in Iran, Syria and Egypt.
While Haniyeh is expected to continue Meshaal’s program of emphasizing improved relations with Arab countries around the region and reaching out to Western countries, his ascent to the organization’s top position is seen as rebalancing influence within Hamas toward its Gaza leadership and its Izzidin al-Qassam Brigade military wing, and away from its foreign political bureau.
“This election shifts the center of gravity in the movement to Gaza,” said Ghassan Khatib, a former Palestinian Authority spokesman and a vice president of Birzeit University. “This is probably an indication of the increase of the power of the inside — particularly the military wing.”
Haniyeh, 54, led Hamas to its 2006 victory in a Palestinian parliamentary election and served as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. He remained the organization’s political leader in Gaza following its takeover of the territory a decade ago from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party as well as through years of blockade and war with Israel.
This year, Hamas selected Yahya Sinwar, a hard-line military leader, to replace Haniyeh as the top leader in Gaza — a move that many feared could help spark new fighting with Israel.
Haniyeh is ranked by opinion polls as one of the most popular politicians.