Ismail Haniyeh Reelected to Another Term as Hamas Leader
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by i24 News
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh gestures as he delivers a speech in Gaza City, Jan. 23, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Mohammed Salem.
i24 News – Ismail Haniyeh has been reelected to a second term as chairman of the Hamas political bureau in Gaza as part of the terrorist organization’s internal elections, Ynet reports.
Haniyeh in 2017 replaced Khaled Mashal in the position. His second term will last until 2025.
During the elections, which have now concluded, Mashal was elected to head Hamas’s diaspora office; the terrorist Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades founder Saleh al-Arouri was elected leader of Hamas in the West Bank; and Salameh Katawi was elected to the role of Hamas leader in Israeli prisons.
Haniyeh recently visited several Arab countries to meet with leaders following the terrorist group’s 11-day conflict with Israel in May.
He met with fellow terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah in Beirut along with Lebanese government officials, including Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
The Hamas leader visited Morocco and Mauritania before Lebanon.
A trip to Iran was also reportedly planned although no reports have surfaced as of yet of Haniyeh visiting the Islamic Republic.
A poll of Palestinians taken after the Gaza-Israel conflict found a dramatic increase of support for Hamas.
Haniyeh would beat Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas if they were the only two contenders in a presidential election, according to respondents, with a majority 53% believing that Hamas is the “most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people,” compared to just 14% for Fatah under Abbas.
