Three rounds of voting for the leadership of the Hamas office in Gaza are said to have ended in a stalemate on Tuesday night, potentially threatening the leadership of Hamas’s governor in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.
No official confirmation was immediately made by the terrorist group Hamas, which is holding clandestine elections for its leadership positions. Internal elections for the Palestinian movement are normally conducted in absolute secrecy for a period of months.
The winner of the vote will head the Hamas office in Gaza, effectively becoming the de facto ruler of the Strip. Sinwar has held the position since 2017.
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The Hamas Shura Council, a quasi-legislative body within the terrorist group, vows to determine who will occupy the group’s most important positions. About 320 members can vote, and a candidate needs 160 votes – a simple majority – to win the day.
Initial reports from the Lebanese media indicated that Sinwar had been defeated by another senior Hamas official, Nizar Awadallah. A source in Gaza, however, indicated that three rounds of internal voting by senior Hamas members failed to see any candidate win the majority of the vote – with Awadallah and Sinwar side by side.
According to the Ma’an News Agency, the vote was postponed to “a later date” due to the stalemate.
Sinwar, a longtime head of terrorism who spent decades in Israeli prisons, was branded by many as an ambitious Hamas officer, with his eyes turned to the top spot of the terrorist group – currently occupied by the head of political bureau Ismail Haniyeh.
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– MuHaMaD ???????????? (@ _G4Z4) March 9, 2021
Known to his Israeli interrogators as “Khan Younis’ butcher” due to the enthusiastic execution of Palestinians who allegedly collaborated with Israel, Sinwar was released from Israeli prison during the 2011 exchange of Gilad Shalit prisoners between Israel and Hamas.
In 2017, he was appointed head of the Hamas office in Gaza, becoming the de facto ruler of the Strip.
The Hamas member said he was his main rival, Nizar Awadullah, played a key role in the 2011 prisoner exchange negotiations. He is a member of the Hamas Politburo, the group’s highest decision-making body, and was a close confidant to the founder. of Hamas, Ahmad Yassin.
A member of the founding generation of Hamas, Awadullah is also known for being close to the former head of the Hamas political cabinet, Khaled Mashaal. Awadullah’s house was bombed twice by Israel, once in 2009 and again in 2014.
Hamas elections take place once every four years and appoint members at all levels of the terrorist group’s hierarchy: from local leaders in Gaza and the West Bank to the Shura Council, an almost legislative arm.
Hamas’ last internal vote was held in 2017. The current head of Hamas’ political cabinet, Ismail Haniyeh, took first place, replacing Mashaal, who has held the post since 1996. Haniyeh had previously served as Hamas’ head in Gaza.
Unlike the Fatah elections, which are festive events, drawing large crowds to polling places, Hamas’ voting is conducted in secret. The full results are expected to be released in April.
