Egypt, Japan discuss economic ties, preparations for TICAD conference    Real Estate Developers urge flexible land pricing, streamlined licensing, and dollar-based transactions    Madinet Masr in talks for three land plots in Riyadh as part of Saudi expansion    Egypt's PM tells Palestinian PM that Rafah crossing is working 24/7 for aid    Egypt's Sisi pledges full state support for telecoms, tech investment    EGP inches down vs. USD at Sunday's trading close    EGX launches 1st phone app    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Hamas Chief Meshaal Wants To Step Down - Political Sources
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 24 - 09 - 2012

Hamas's leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal, is tired of policy challenges from the Islamist group's Gaza-based leadership and is not seeking re-election in a vote now underway, political and diplomatic sources said on Sunday.
Over the past five months, Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, has been quietly holding a leadership ballot among activists in the territory, the occupied West Bank, Israeli prisons and in Arab and other foreign countries.
Meshaal, who has led Hamas since 1996 from various Arab capitals, told a meeting of its senior officials in Cairo last week that he had no desire to remain its chief and his decision not to run in the election was final, said a source close to Hamas.
"He (Meshaal) told them to pick another leader," the source said.
Meshaal and other Hamas officials have made no public comment on his future leadership or on the Cairo meeting.
Earlier this year, Meshaal angered Hamas's Gaza-based leadership by agreeing that its main rival, the Fatah movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, could lead any future unity government.
Egypt has brokered a reconciliation pact between Hamas and Fatah, which fought a brief civil war in 2007 that left the Islamist group in control of the Gaza Strip and Abbas in charge of the West Bank.
But implementation of the pact, which envisages a governing partnership and new Palestinian elections, has been held up by the two sides' failure to carry out its clauses on the ground.
Meshaal has also voiced what critics in Hamas saw as approval for Abbas's now-stalled talks with Israel, saying in 2011 that 20 years after a 1991 international Middle East conference, Palestinians were willing to give peace another chance.
"Meshaal has grown impatient with some of his Gaza officials who recently tried to undermine decisions he took on behalf of the group," said a diplomatic source in the region.
Hamas has repeatedly denied any internal rift.
SAVVY
Meshaal, the source added, was more savvy about world politics and more pragmatic than Hamas leaders who have lived only in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has dismissed such distinctions, blaming Meshaal for planning attacks that have killed hundreds of its soldiers and civilians. In 1997, Mossad agents botched an attempt to kill him in Amman, an incident that strained ties with Jordan.
The diplomatic source said Meshaal was likely to come under pressure from within Hamas and from some Arab countries to agree to stand as a candidate before a final vote, whose date remains secret.
Another source, privy to the Hamas meeting in Cairo, said Ismail Haniyeh, the group's leader in the Gaza Strip, and Moussa Abu Marzouk, who headed Hamas in the early 1990s, were the top candidates to replace Meshaal.
Both Haniyeh and Abu Marzouk support closer relations with Arab countries and Europe, while adhering to Hamas's policy of refusing Western demands to recognise Israel's right to exist.
The location of a new Hamas chief could be key to winning votes. Hamas activists have traditionally preferred leaders in exile, in venues seen as offering better personal security than in the Gaza Strip which Israeli drones overfly frequently.
Founded in 1988, Hamas's charter advocates Israel's destruction. Hamas leaders, however, have said they would accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in return for a long-term truce with Israel.
Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.