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Hamas leadership crisis drawing in Iran, Qatar, Turkey and Muslim Brotherhood

Arab sources suggest that the global Muslim Brotherhood movement, headquartered in Britain, also supports Khaled Mashaal’s candidacy.

By Baruch Yedid, TPS

In the wake of the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Hamas is embroiled in a significant internal conflict over the succession of its ruling politburo.

The dispute pits the terror group’s leaders based in Gaza against its leaders abroad and is drawing in Iran, Qatar, Turkey, and the global leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The current power struggle pits Hamas’s Gaza leadership, led by Yahya Sinwar, against Hamas leaders outside Gaza and other Arab states.

Reports indicate that Sinwar favors his deputy, Khalil al-Hayya, to take over the politburo.

In contrast, Qatar, Turkey, and the Muslim Brotherhood are advocating for Meshaal.

Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch.

“Iran or Qatar do not have the authority to decide on the question of Ismail Haniyeh’s successor. Khaled Mashaal’s chances of winning the position are still very high,” a Hamas source told TPS-IL.

Mashaal led Hamas’s politburo until 2017, when Haniyeh was chosen to succeed him.

Abu Omar Hassan, head of Hamas’s Shura Council, has been proposed as a temporary chairman for four months as a possible compromise.

Another option under consideration is for Hamas to operate without a politburo leader.

“Hamas is now facing one of its most difficult tests,” a senior Palestinian official told TPS-IL.

“On one hand, the movement may split into two separate groups. On the other hand, if Sinwar manages to exert his influence, the chances of the movement joining the PLO in the foreseeable future will be lost.”

Arab sources suggest that the global Muslim Brotherhood movement, headquartered in Britain, also supports Meshaal’s candidacy.

On the other hand, Iran is aligned with the Gaza-based leaders and prefers either al Hayya or Zahar Jabarin, who now heads Hamas operations in Judea and Samaria.

Haniyeh was the leading figure in Hamas’s Qatari camp while his deputy, Saleh Arouri — who spearheaded efforts to bring the terror group more firmly into Iran’s orbit — was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in January.

Tensions escalated on Friday when Turkey appeared to endorse Meshaal.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan extended condolences to Mashaal during Haniyeh’s funeral in Tehran, an act that reportedly angered factions within both Hamas and Iran.

Since then, the Shura Council of Hamas has been holding consultations in Qatar, highlighting the rift between the camps.

Hamas leadership has been fragmented by the elimination of top figures, including top commander Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa (Hamas’s No. 3 man), Economy Minister Abed Al-Zeriei, Ahmed Ehandor (commander of the Northern Division), Iman Nofal (commander of Central Gaza Brigade) and Rafa’a Salameh (commander of the Khan Yunis Brigade).

The fate of Raed Saad (head of the operations division in Gaza) remains unknown after he was targeted in an airstrike in June.

Haniyeh’s assassination is widely attributed to Israel, but Jerusalem has neither confirmed or denied this.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7.

Of the 115 remaining hostages, 39 have been declared dead.

Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.