Hamas says politburo, secretive Shura Council working to replace Haniyeh

Gianluca Pacchiani is the Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel

Khaled Mashal, member of Hamas's political bureau, speaks to Kuwaiti podcaster Ammar Taqi on January 16, 2024 (Video screenshot)
Khaled Mashal, member of Hamas's political bureau, speaks to Kuwaiti podcaster Ammar Taqi on January 16, 2024 (Video screenshot)

Hamas has begun consultations to appoint a new leader following the killing of its politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

In a statement, the terror group announces that its political bureau and its Shura Council have convened urgent meetings to discuss a successor for Haniyeh, as it did when other leaders were “martyred” in the past.

The Shura Council is a secret consultative body composed of officials elected by Hamas members in four chapters: Gaza, the West Bank, the diaspora and prisoners in Israeli jails. Once a mostly religious body, today it also comprises political and socially prominent figures.

Pundits believe that the two frontrunners to replace Haniyeh are Khaled Mashaal, a founding member of Hamas’s politburo who helmed the terror group between 2004 and 2017, and Khalil al-Hayya, a powerful figure within Hamas who was close to the slain leader.

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