Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been re-elected without a position, officials confirmed Monday, advancing his grip on the Palestinian Islamic group who controlled the Gaza Strip after recent clashes with Israel.
In a statement, Hamas said that the selection process had concluded with the rapture again as the political head after “tens of thousands” members took part in internal polls.
The contest is unknown to the opponent to Haniyeh.
Considered a pragmatic, Haniyeh has become the Head of the Hamas Political Bureau since 2017, even though he lives in exile, splitting time between Turkey and Qatar.
He was recently involved in talks aimed at strengthening the Cairo intermediary ceasefire which ended the latest deadly violence between Jewish and Hamas countries. The 11-day conflict in May killed 13 Israelis and 260 Palestinians, including several fighters.
Hamas won the last legislative election in Gaza, poor pockets of poor Palestinian nearly two million, in 2006, a surprising defeat to Fatah’s rival.
The Virtual Civil War the following year led to the Palestinian division, with Fatah dominating the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas ruled the Gaza Strip.
Israel has blocked Gaza since, citing recurring attacks, while Hamas has been shunned internationally and states terrorist groups by the European Union and the United States.
Haniyeh’s victory completed the poll process which began last March with the re-election of the local Gaza Head of Hamas, Yahya Shinwar. Voting was further postponed due to May’s clashes with Israel.
