New Hamas leader signals shift in power
Familiar face turns group’s focus to Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The newly elected leader of Hamas paid tribute in Gaza on Monday to Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel, his first appearance in the new role and a sign of the group’s internal power shift from the diaspora to the Hamas-ruled territory.
Since the Palestinian group’s founding 30 years ago, its top leaders had moved between Arab capitals such as Beirut, Damascus, and Doha, Qatar.
On Saturday, Hamas confirmed it had elected Ismail Haniyeh, a former Gaza prime minister, to replace Qatar-based Khaled Mashaal as head of the group’s political bureau, the top job.
Haniyeh, born in the Shati refugee camp near Gaza City, is well-known in the tiny, crowded coastal strip of 2 million people.
He briefly visited a Gaza City “solidarity tent” for hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, arriving in his familiar white SUV and accompanied by bodyguards. Photos of the prisoners were displayed in the tent.
“It’s my honor to shoulder the responsibility of leading the political bureau of this large movement of holy resistance,” he said after greeting local security chiefs.
Hamas’ shift to Gaza comes at a time of growing financial pressure on the territory, ruled by the Islamic militant group since it drove out forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.
Abbas, who oversees autonomous enclaves in the West Bank, has reduced salary payments and electricity subsidies to Gaza in recent weeks and said more steps would follow. It’s part of an attempt to force Hamas to cede ground in Gaza after years of failed reconciliation attempts.
Haniyeh, 54, also faces other challenges, such as restrictions on movement. Israel and Egypt imposed a border blockade on Gaza after the Hamas takeover, keeping the territory’s borders sealed most of the time. Hamas leaders have been able to travel abroad from time to time, but only with Egyptian coordination.