Hamas is holding a recount of its leadership election vote after Gaza governor Yahya Sinwar lost to his competitor Nizar Awadullah, Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV reports.
No official confirmation has yet come from the Hamas terror group. Hamas’s internal elections are normally conducted in utter secrecy over a period of months.
Al-Mayadeen reportd that Sinwar lost by seven votes in the internal Hamas primaries to his opponent.
Sinwar, a long-time terrorist who spent decades in Israeli jails, had been marked by many as an ambitious Hamas official with his eye on the terror group’s top spot — currently occupied by political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Awadullah, a senior Hamas member born in Egypt, played a key role in the negotiations with led to the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. He served as Gaza governor for the terror group in 2016, before Sinwar assumed the role.
Awadullah’s house was bombed twice by Israel, once in 2009 and again in 2014.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
