Yahya Sinwar won a second term as leader of the organization in Gaza, a Hamas spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.
“Yahya Sinwar was elected for a second term as head of Hamas’ political office in Gaza, from 2021 to 2025,” Hamas spokesman Hazim Qasim said in a statement.
The terrorist group Hamas is holding clandestine elections for its main positions. Internal elections for the Palestinian movement are normally conducted in absolute secrecy for a period of months.
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Sinwar took first place in the Hamas Politburo in Gaza. Whoever holds the position becomes the highest-ranking Hamas officer in the coastal enclave, the de facto ruler of the Strip and the second most powerful member of the organization.
Three rounds of voting were conducted last night, with Sinwar and his main opponent, Nizar Awadullah, unable to guarantee victory. Sinwar received more than 50% of the vote in Wednesday’s vote, leading to a second four-year term.
In a statement after the tense electoral stalemate, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh praised Hamas’ internal vote as “real elections, not just for display”.
“With transparency and integrity, everyone accepts their results,” said Haniyeh of the vote.
Hamas leaders, Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, in Gaza City, June 26, 2019. (Hassan Jedi / Flash90)
The Hamas Shura Council, a quasi-legislative body within the terrorist group, issues ballots to determine who will fill the group’s senior positions. About 320 members can vote, and a candidate needs 160 votes – a simple majority – to win the day.
Although Sinwar emerged victorious, he faced considerable and surprising opposition to a second term. Sinwar’s reign in Gaza did not see a major war between Hamas and Israel, but living conditions in the crowded and poor Gaza Strip continued to deteriorate.
Sinwar, 58, is second only to the head of the Hamas Politburo, Haniyeh, in the hierarchy of the terrorist group. He spent decades in an Israeli prison after being convicted in 1989 for conducting the kidnapping and execution of two Israeli soldiers.
Known to his Israeli interrogators as “Khan Younis’ butcher” due to his enthusiastic execution of Palestinians who allegedly collaborated with Israel, Sinwar was released from prison as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.
Considered a hard line within Hamas, Sinwar is famous for his pivotal role in founding the Hamas military wing and security services. Brigades Izz al-Din al-Qassem and Majd, respectively, committed numerous terrorist attacks against Israelis, as well as killing Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel.
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 chief Ismail Haniyeh, in the center, speaks to Hamas chief in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, on the left, after arriving at the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on 19 September 2017 (AFP / SAID KHATIB)
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.
Rumors have surfaced in the Palestinian press for months that Mashaal would seek a comeback against Haniyeh in the internal elections. The former Hamas chief has lived in Doha since 2012. Haniyeh’s base is in Gaza, while Mashaal’s main constituency is in the West Bank and abroad.
