Hamas said it selected Ismail Haniyeh, a charismatic grassroots politician as its new political chief, the latest move in an effort to refre<\/b>
\nHamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, said Saturday that it had chosen Ismail Haniyeh, a charismatic grassroots politician, as its new political chief, the latest move in an effort to refresh the militant Islamist group\u2019s leadership and manifesto.
Haniyeh, seen as a relative moderate with close ties to Hamas\u2019 military wing, will move from Gaza City to Hamas headquarters in Doha, Qatar, to take over from Khaled Meshaal, who has been responsible for the organization\u2019s foreign relations and financing for the last 12 years.
The announcement caps several months of voting among Hamas\u2019 far-flung members in Gaza, the West Bank, Israeli jails and abroad to select a replacement for Meshaal, who sought to step down.
It comes a few days after Hamas unveiled a revised charter that eased its position on Israel and distanced itself from Islamist groups in the region in what was seen as a bid to reverse years of growing isolation in the region.
Hamas, classified as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Israel, has been buffeted by upheavals across the Arab world, which resulted in bruised relations and reduced support from governments in Iran, Syria and Egypt.
While Haniyeh is expected to continue Meshaal\u2019s program of emphasizing improved relations with Arab countries around the region and reaching out to Western countries, his ascent to the organization\u2019s top position is seen as rebalancing influence within Hamas toward its Gaza leadership and its Qassem Brigades military wing, and away from its foreign political bureau.
\u201cThis election shifts the center of gravity in the movement to Gaza, \u201d said Ghassan Khatib, a former Palestinian Authority spokesman and a vice president of Bir Zeit University. \u201cThis is probably an indication of the increase of the power of the inside \u2014 particularly the military wing.\u201d
Haniyeh, 54, led Hamas to its 2006 victory in a Palestinian parliamentary election and served as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. He remained the organization\u2019s political leader in Gaza following its takeover of the territory a decade ago from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas\u2019 Fatah party as well as through years of blockade and war with Israel.
Earlier this year, Hamas selected Sinwar Yahya, a hardline military leader, to replace Haniyeh as the top leader in Gaza \u2014 a move that many feared could help spark a new round of fighting with Israel.
Haniyeh, who served as an assistant to Hamas\u2019 founding spiritual leader, Sheikh Amed Yassin, and whose home is in a Gaza City refugee camp, is consistently ranked by Palestinian opinion polls as one as the most popular politicians.
\u201cUnder its new leadership, the movement must continue and intensify its efforts to strengthen internal Palestinian relations\u2026 strengthen the steadfastness of our people, and mobilize Arab, Islamic and international powers to stand by the Palestinian people, \u201d said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum in a statement announcing Haniyeh\u2019s selection.
Last week, Hamas unveiled a series of additions to its charter that expressed support for establishing a provisional Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip \u2014 seen as a tacit acceptance of Israel. The new manifesto emphasized that Hamas is first and foremost a Palestinian movement \u2014 an effort to distance itself from Egypt\u2019s Muslim Brotherhood and improve ties with the government in Cairo. It also sought to distance the organization from the anti-Semitic language of its original charter.
A statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netahyahu rejected the revised charter as an effort to \u201cfool the world.\u2019 \u2019
Despite Haniyeh\u2019s reputation as an affable leader who helped push Hamas to compete in elections that were expected to moderate the organization, the years of conflict with Israel and estrangement from Fatah have hardened the newly elected political leader and made him more inclined to go along with the military wing, said one analyst.
\u201cHaniyeh was radicalized by the situation in Gaza, \u201d said Bjorn Brenner, a researcher on Palestinian politics at the Swedish Defense University and the author of a book on Hamas. \u201cHe was one of the leaders who believed that participating in the political system would make the international community open their arms, strengthen the Palestinians, and force Israel to deal with Hamas. It didn\u2019 t go like that.\u2019 \u2019
Special correspondents Abualouf reported from Gaza City and Mitnick from Tel Aviv
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