Hamas to choose new leader instead of Mashal on Saturday
According to Palestinian sources, the election process to replace Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Mashal will be held on Shabbat; The candidates are Hamas leader and frontrunner Ismail Haniyeh, Musa Abu Marzuq and Mohammad Nazzal.
The former Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh currently holds the number two position in Hamas and is the most powerful and dominant Hamas figure in the Gaza Strip. He is considered a very charismatic figure, a gifted public speaker and a man who can successfully market and capitalize on his modest way of life.
Over the years, Haniyeh has created a network of contacts and allies among the other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, first and foremost the PAlestinian Islamic Jihad. He is a well-known figure in Qatar (the main donor to the Gaza Strip), Turkey (Hamas's main Islamic patron) and even Iran.
Abu Marzuq was the first to serve as head of the Hamas Political Bureau in the early 1990s. He is seen among Hamas members as being a strategic thinking with an extensive network of connections among Islamic leaders in the Arab and Muslim worlds. His strength lies in his diplomatic capabilities, and especially in his good relations with the leaders of the political and security leadership in Egypt, who traditionally prefer to talk to him when dealing with Hamas.
In recent years, Abu Marzuq has become the de facto a link between Hamas and Egypt, moving between Cairo—his home in recent years—and the Gaza Strip. He also had a direct connection with the leadership in Iran and Hezbollah, though his ties with them suffered severe damage this year after an unknown source—apparently an Arab intelligence agency—leaked a recording of a telephone conversation in which Abu Marzuq attacked Iran and accused it of lying and not aiding Hamas.
Abu Marzuq also has good relations with Hamas's military branch, which does always not see eye to eye with the organization's political leadership. He additionally holds an important role as the person heading the reconciliation attempt between Hamas and with Fatah, which is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He therefore has a relatively good relationship with some of the leadership in Ramallah, a fact that could prove invaluable, particularly in light of Abbas's recent promise to take painful steps against Hamas.
Out of the three candidates, Mohammed Nazzal has the lowest chances of being elected. Nazzal, 54, joined Hamas a year after the organization was founded. He acted as a Hamas official in Jordan in 1992, back when the Hamas Political Bureau was still based in Amman. He was later elected to be a member of the Hamas Political Bureau and in 1999 moved to Syria after Jordan decided to close the organization's offices in its territory.
In Damascus, Nazzal was responsible for Hamas's propaganda and became one of its spokesmen. During this period, Hamas established the Al-Aqsa and Al-Quds radio and television stations, which are completely affiliated with the organization. Nazzal and the other leaders of the organization left Syria due to the country's devolving civil war, and these days he has no permanent residence, though he can usually be with other leading Hamas members in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Whoever will be elected in place of Mashal will work with Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and current Palestinian Prime Minister Yahya Sinwar, who was elected in February to replace Haniyeh. Sinwar was one of the most senior prisoners to be released in the Shalit deal.
